


Let's Go Home

by asdflove



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gem Homeworld, Homeworld Blues AU, Pink Diamond Theory, Totally made up depictions of the Gem Homeworld
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-04-25 04:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 76,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4946095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asdflove/pseuds/asdflove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Steven had gone with Lapis at the end of Mirror Gem, what would have happened? Well, the ocean never would have been stolen, for one. Steven never would have lost his healing powers. Pearl would have never almost taken them into space. Ronaldo would still be on about Snake People. Connie's parents never would have met the gems. Steven never makes the watermelon Stevens and so on. </p><p>Oh, and Steven goes to Homeworld. That's a pretty big deal.</p><p> </p><p>(All depictions of Homeworld were made up around the time of When it Rains; apologies for any incorrectness later)<br/>(Also much credit should go to my Editor, fight scene choreographer, and chief Diamond Crazy-ifier Captain Infinity)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prolouge: Let's Go Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, uh, well the first thing I'm posting on Ao3. It's a fanfiction for the Homeworld Blues AU which I came up with like a week ago. Basically in it Steven goes with Lapis when she asks at the end of mirror gem and it follows from there. Enjoy.

### Prologue

##### Let’s go home

Steven tears from the temple, running from the gems. He ducks behind a rock, breathing heavily ”What am I gonna do? What's their problem with you? Are you trying to say something?” He looks down at the mirror in his shaking hands.

“Away from home - Let - Me - Out!” The mirror distortedly says, and Steven is just more confused.

“I don't understand!” He cries.

Somewhere Pearl can be heard shouting “Steven!”

Steven grips the mirror tightly. “Come on! I want to help you! What can I do?

The mirror makes some distorted whooshing and whirring noises and shows an image of a silhouette of Steven pulling the gem from the back of the mirror.

Steven turns the mirror over in his hands and starts pulling on the gem. Water from the ocean forms into a pattern around his feet, and with some effort he gets the gem out. “Ah!” The mirror shatters and the gem floats away, a marionette like form spawning from it that then forms into a blue gem. She collapses to the ground.

Steven gasps. “Wha…?”

The blue gem sighs, and turns towards Steven. “Thank you... You didn't…” She collapses, falling forward, but Steven catches her. “You actually talked to me. You helped me! It's Steven, right?

Steven takes a deep breath, making vague noise of agreement.

“I'm Lapis. Lapis Lazuli. Are you really a Crystal Gem?”

Steven nods. “Yeah!”

“...But you set me free.”

“But- Wha…” None of this is making ANY sense to Steven. 

“Steven!” Garnet shouts and the Crystal Gems all run forward, summoning their weapons.

Steven runs in front of the crystal gems. “Wait!”

“You…” Lapis raises a huge watery arm from out of the ocean.

Steven gasps, staring at it.

“You three _knew_ I was in there,” The water hand rises. “and you didn't do _anything_. Did you even wonder who I used to be?!”

The water hand slams down upon the Crystal Gems, trapping Garnet underneath and knocking Amethyst and Pearl to the side. 

“Steven, run!” Pearl shouts, her tone tinged heavily with concern.

Steven looks between Lapis and the Crystal Gems. “What are you doing?”

“I'm Lapis Lazuli, and you can't keep me trapped here anymore!”

“Huh?” Steven frowns, getting increasingly confused. 

“They're not going to let us leave.” Lapis stares hard at Steven. 

“Leave?” Steven looks between Lapis and the Gems, very confused. 

Lapis parts the ocean, making a path. “Steven, come with me.”

Steven turns his wide-eyed gaze to Lapis. “Where?”

“Home.”

“B-b-but... B-but I... Uh…” Steven stutters, very, very, confused. 

“Steven, you don’t belong here with them. Let’s go home.” She extends a hand to Steven, beckoning him. For a moment, Steven hesitates, but, with one last hesitant look back at the Crystal Gems, Steven grabs Lapis’ hand and she pulls him into the ocean, the sound of the Crystal Gems screaming his name echoing after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually think this prologue is the worse writing in this. It's awkward to try and use someone else's dialogue, but it sets up the entire story, and I want it to exist, so here it is. A near match for what happened in the show right up until Lapis asks again after Steven's confusion.
> 
> I know this must seem lame, but please go on to read the first chapter. I think it's pretty good.


	2. Chapter 1: Drool me a river

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Lapis argue about how to get off earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun. To give credit where credit is due, my friend Captain Infinity (who is not on this site) came up with the chapter title. 
> 
> From, now on and hopefully until the story is complete I'll post one chapter a week, likely on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

### Chapter 1

##### Drool me a River

“No, you can't just steal the ocean!" Steven crosses his arms, admonishing Lapis. “The Ocean is really important to Earth.”

Lapis Lazuli sighs, and leans back against the wall of the lighthouse. “Well I just think that there MAY be enough water on Earth to push us into space to get to the nearest gem controlled planet so we can go home.”

“Uh, I’m still a bit fuzzy on that actually.” Steven admits. “You keep mentioning some home off Earth, but Earth is the only place I’ve ever lived.”

“... So you were made in the Kindergarten?”

“... What’s the Kindergarten?”

“No then? I don’t really understand you Steven. You’re a gem-” Steven pulls up his shirt, revealing the Pink Gem in his bellybutton. “But you need to breathe? And you don’t seem to know anything.”

“I’m half human.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Nothing makes sense to me right now.” Steven sighs, flopping back on the lighthouse floor. “Tell me about ‘home’, because I am SO confused.”

Lapis glances around the room. “I still think this is a terrible place to hide. It’s RIGHT ABOVE their base.”

“Which is why they won’t look here, though I still don’t understand why you’re so afraid of them.”

“They imprisoned me in a mirror, they’re traitors, they’ve shattered countless of their own kind.”

“W-what are you talking about Lapis? Traitors? Shattered? I-I don’t understand.”

“You call yourself a crystal gem, but you really don’t know anything about them, do you?” She smiles sadly at Steven. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they aren’t good people. Gems form a wonderful intergalactic culture, spreading our greatness across the galaxy! For eons we lived in peace and harmony. But then, millennia ago, one of our leaders heartlessly betrayed the entirety of gem kind to ‘defend’ one planet. Abandoning her homeworld, her subjects, her race, for humans, a short lived and, at the time, utterly worthless species-er, no offence. She turned it into a war, a pointless, unnecessary war where countless gems died, shattering our peaceful way of life. These horrible rebels called themselves-”

“-The Crystal Gems.” Steven squeaks, slapping his hands over his mouth. “They hurt other gems? Th-that doesn't make any sense. I-I...” 

“I’m sorry Steven. But home is wonderful. It’s a glorious Shining Utopia full of glittering beautiful cities where all gems live in harmony! Shining spires that touch the clouds, countless amounts of art, and beautiful architecture, as far as the eye can see. The Diamonds leave their loyal Citizens in constant care. Everything you could want is provided. It’s a paradise! And… We just need to get there.” She chuckles nervously. “Which is why I want to use the ocean.”

Steven blinks away tears, and scowls at Lapis. Hadn’t they already covered this? “No means NO, Lapis. The ocean is very important to earth! Isn’t there some other way!?” He jumps to his feet and begins pacing in circles. “How did the gems get here in the first place?”

“Well, they came here on- Wait! The Galaxy Warp! We can escape through there! Duh! Why’d I think of using the ocean before using a warp!?" She smacks her head and jumps up. “Do you think we’d be able to use the warp in the Crystal Gem’s base, or are we gonna have to swim there?”

“The Galaxy warp? I think Pearl just mentioned that place- wha? Huh? Use the warp in my house? Well I think all three of them are out searching for me and you, so it’ll probably be fi- WOAAAAH!” Lapis grabs Steven’s hand and pulls him out of the lighthouse and down towards the temple, jumping right over the fence- pulling Steven with her- to run down the face of the temple then switches to sliding, laughing exuberantly, Lapis basically carrying Steven. About halfway down Lapis falls away from the temple into open air, and Steven summons his bubble around them so neither of them get hurt. It slams onto the ground on the beach and Steven drops it, letting out a breath. 

"Why'd you do that? I could've stuck the landing." Lapis crosses her arms.

Steven frowns, remembering Amethyst, and glances over his shoulder at the beach awkwardly. "I've... Had bad experiences with friends falling off cliffs."

“Okaaaay. SO! Warp!” Lapis runs up to Steven’s house, Steven trailing behind, a little hesitant.

He comes in, looking around his dark room and sighs, stepping onto the warp pad with Lapis. “Homeworld is really as great as you say?”

“Homeworld is amazing, Steven. You’ll love it there.” Lapis beams at Steven, getting more excited by the second. Steven gives his room one last look before nodding at Lapis to activate the warp. 

Arriving on the ocean pillar of the Galaxy Warp, Steven and Lapis step off the pad, Steven looking around in wonder and Lapis rushing right over to the homeworld warp. “Woah…” Steven walks slowly to the big, centermost warp pad where Lapis is waiting, just marveling at all the warps here. “I’ve never seen so many warp pads. Where do they all go?”

He comes up next to Lapis, who’s just staring worriedly at the damage to to pad. “Other planets, but they all seem pretty beat up.”

Steven spins to look at them all again, and shrugs. “Will they still work?”

“I… don’t know. I hope so. It’s our only way home, since you won’t let me use the ocean.”

“The ocean is important! It's full of fish and salt and other things people need! No stealing it!”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on.” She climbs onto the pad, motioning for Steven to follow her. Clambering onto the large pad, Steven closes his eyes, silently saying goodbye to Earth… but the pad doesn’t work. He opens one eye slowly, and then the other. 

“So, uh, it’s busted. Any way to get out of here other than stealing the ocean?” Steven sits down next to Lapis, who’s collapsed to her knees on the warp. 

“No. It would be easy if my gem wasn’t cracked, but it is, so we’re stranded here.”

Steven blinks several times, slowly grinning. “Lapis. That’s not really a problem.”

“How is us being stranded here NOT a problem?”

“No, no, no. Not that part. The part about your gem being cracked! I have healing powers!” 

“You… you have healing powers!? Wha? WHY DIDN’T YOU MENTION IT SOONER!?” Lapis jumps to her feet, throwing her arms out to the side. “WE COULD HAVE LEFT HOURS AGO!”

Steven scrambles to his feet as well. "You never said you could get us out of here! I didn't think it was relevant! Please stop yelling!”

“Sorry, sorry. How do you heal me? What do I need to do?” 

“Err, just hold still a moment, this might be a _little_ weird.” Steven steps around behind her and licks his hand before putting it on her gem. He takes a step back and her gem begins to glow and a moment later wings made of water sprout from it. She turns around towards Steven, grinning broadly, her eyes no longer mirror like. 

“You actually did it Steven! Thank you! We can go home now.” She picks him up and shoots off into the sky, going straight up. 

“Woah! Woah! No! Wait! Steven can’t survive in space like this!” He squirms in Lapis’arms, and she stops. 

“Riiiight. You’re weird. What do we need to do?”

“Uh, I need air. And food. And protection from the cold darkness of space. I guess I could just go in my bubble, but that only holds so much air.” 

Lapis lands back on the Galaxy Warp, gently setting Steven down. “Okay, so what can we do about that? 

“Uh, well like, you can get oxygen. Astronauts do when they’re in space. So I could just carry some oxygen tanks in my bubble to keep the air having oxygen and stuff, and also carry food in my bubble.”

“So we need to get you oxygen and food for the trip.” Lapis says flatly. “Shouldn’t be hard. We just need to grab that stuff for you, then I can carry your bubble into space and to the nearest gem controlled planet which WILL have a functioning galaxy warp.”

“Yeah, but the bubble will be rather cramped…” Steven frowns, picturing the size of his bubble when it’s just him in it.

“Well if you need it to go home, wouldn’t it be worth it?”

“Well, yeah, I guess- Oh! Oh! Oh! I have an idea Lapis!” He runs over to the domestic warp, beaming. “We’ll be able to go really soon!”

  



	3. Chapter 2: Lion Luggage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven looks for Lion to put stuff in his mane for the trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW. I PROMISED A CHAPTER A WEEK. I HAVE ALL THE WAY UP TO CHAPTER 17 WRITTEN. I just wanted to edit this one before posting it, but I've never got around to it. I STILL haven't edited it, but I was feeling bad for having not gotten it posted yet.

### Chapter 2

##### Lion Luggage

“Wait! Steven! Ugh! Where are you going!?” Lapis darts after him, stopping just short of the warp pad.

“I have an idea, but I need to get Lion! Just get the stuff we talked about- lots of it! I have no idea how long this trip is! I’ll meet you back here!” He jumps back on the warp, going back to his house. He quickly grabs his cheeseburger backpack, grabbing a large armful of his clothes and shoving it in, before carefully gathering all the non-perishable foods from his kitchen- he doesn’t really know how much food Lapis will get. He sadly looks around his room, fighting back tears. Is he really leaving this all behind? Lapis says that this place, that Earth, isn’t a real home to any gem, but… it’s the only home Steven’s ever known. He grabs a group picture of him and the gems that his dad took, and gently places it in his bag, before climbing up to his bed and grabbing his picture of Connie and putting that in too. 

Steven climbs back down and slips out of his house, staring out over the beach, and sighs. Trudging down towards the beach he begins to look for Lion, keeping his eyes and ear out for the gems too, just in case he has to hide. Getting into town, he runs head long into his dad. 

“Woah! Stuball. Hey, you okay kiddo? You seem sort of down.”

“Ah! Oh, Dad. Hey.” Steven laughs nervously. “Uh, am I okay?... Well... Um, hey dad. If you... Found out someone you really cared about was lying to you about like, everything, not hanging around that person would be the right thing to do right?" 

Greg blinks in shock, and Steven smiles nervously, hoping that the gems didn’t tell his dad that he was missing. “Well, Steven, that depends on why they lied in the first place. If it was just for the sake of lying, sure, ditch the jerks. But sometimes people lie to protect the people they care about.”

“I-I guess. B-but what if the thing they lied about was having done lots of horrible things?” Steven stutters. Is… is he wrong for going with Lapis? 

Greg sucks in a deep breath, and crouches down next to Steven, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Well, Steven, 'horrible' isn't exactly always an objective term. Sometimes people do bad things for the right reasons. Sometimes they do it because they think it's right. If you liked them from the start enough that you care about them, they can't be THAT bad, can they?"

Tears well up in Steven’s eyes. His dad is NOT making this any easier, but… everything Lapis said… does he even know the Crystal Gems at all? "Well, what if they were lying to you about who they were the whole time?"

Greg pulls back, looking confused. “Wait what? Steven have you been dealing with the CIA or something? You know people in suits give me a rash!”

"I-it's not important dad!” Steven takes a shaky breath. “I've got to find Lion!” He starts to walk again, but Greg stops him with a hand on his shoulder. 

“Wait! One more thing kiddo.” 

Steven stops dead, and slowly turns around to face his dad again. “W-what?”

"Listen, if you really care about these people- err, whoever they are-, and they care about you, then I'm sure they had their reasons. But... You're a big kid. You've grown up a lot. And, I think, if someone hasn't been being truthful with you, then you have a right to know what's really going on. If not knowing bothers you that much, then you should go and figure out the truth yourself."

Steven nods slightly after a moment. “Thanks dad.” He quickly hugs his dad tightly, trying not to cry, and runs off. 

After walking a short ways down the boardwalk, Steven starts muttering to himself. “I should go find the truth for myself. I’m not abandoning anyone. I’m… I’m finding the truth…” 

“Heeey Steven. Whatcha muttering about?” Jenny Pizza startles Steven. 

“Aaaaah! Oh! Uh, hey Jenny. Just… magic stuff. It’s not important. Uh, how are you?”

“I’m good, but you seem really high strung. Sour Cream and Buck should be here soon. Wanna go for a ride with us?” She grins, and glances at her phone. “Any minute really.”

“Uh, I’ll pass. I’m actually looking for Lion. You wouldn’t have happened to see him around, have you?”

“Your big pink Lion? No, sorry Steven, I haven’t. Why are you lookin’ for it?”

“I need him for some magic stuff, that’s all.” Steven fidgets and Jenny laughs. 

“What, are you gonna pull rabbits out of his mane?” 

“... No, I’m going to put stuff into his mane. Well, uh, it was nice talking to you Jenny, but I should go back to searching. Tell Buck and Sour Cream I said hi.”

“See ya later Steven!” Jenny calls after Steven as he walks away, and he flinches, breaking into a run. 

Fighting back a fresh wave of tears, Steven ducks into the Funland arcade, hiding just inside, leaning against a wall, as he forces himself to calm down. He’s doing the right thing. He’s getting the truth. That’s all. And… and homeworld sounds GREAT. Everything will be fine. He just needs to find Lion. Taking a deep breath Steven leaves the arcade and the boardwalk into the town proper to look for Lion there. 

So distracted in his search for Lion, Steven manages to run headlong into someone again. 

“Watch where you’re going Steven!” Lars snaps, and is elbowed by Sadie. 

“Hello Steven.” Sadie smiles warmly at Steven, and he squirms uncomfortably. 

“Uh, hey guys. Have either of you seen Lion? I’ve looked for him everywhere, but I can’t seem to find him.”

Lars snorts. “How do you lose a big pink lion?” He laughs, covering his mouth with his hand. “I mean seriously. You’d have to be blind to lose something so big and weird.”

“Lars!” Sadie glares at him, with her arms crossed, before turning her attention back to Steven. “No, we haven’t seen him, but we could help you look. Oh! And one of the gems was looking for you earlier. Came into the big donut.”

“Uh, yeah. I already talked to her.” He laughs nervously. “And you don’t need to help me. I can find him on my own, but thanks Sadie.”

“Well would you tell that gem she’s banned from the big donut? She ate all of our supply for the day.” Lars snaps. “We had to close up early.”

Steven tries very hard not to laugh, but he still chuckles. Had to have been Amethyst then. “I’ll try to pass that message on.” He starts to walk away, then stops and quickly hugs both of them.

“Woah! Steven, is everything okay?” Sadie awkwardly hugs him back.

“Hey! Get off me man!” Lars pushes Steven away by his head. “What the hell was that for?”

Steven smiles at both of them. “I… just felt like a hug.” He grins. “Bye guys, I’ll miss you!” Steven starts walking away. 

“It’s not like you won’t just see us tomorrow.” Sadie laughs. “See you later Steven.” 

He walks through the city, still keeping an eye out for Lion. After several minutes a voice behind him calls out his name.

“Steven! Hey Steven! Wait up!”

Steven freezes in fear, not realizing for a moment that it was Connie. He turns, attempting to smile at her. “Heeeeeey Cooooonniiie”.

“Steven, I’ve been looking for you everywhere! I went to your house, but no one was there!”

“Oh, sorry. I’ve been looking for Lion.” Steven rubs the back of his head. “I can’t find him anywhere. You wouldn’t have happened to seen him around somewhere, would you?”

“No, but I saw Pearl. She was running down the beach, but she was so out of it she wouldn’t even talk to me, it was weird. Is everything okay Steven? You seem like you’re on edge.”

“O-on edge? Nonono. Why would you think that? I’m fine.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Steven, you can tell me if something is wrong. I mean, there’s obviously something weird going on. Why are you looking for Lion anyway?”

“I-uh-need him for some gem stuff.” That’s not a lie. It’s not a lie at all. He chuckles nervously. “It’s some crazy stuff that just came up, so I REALLY need to find him, and I can’t hang out. I’m sorry Connie.” He starts to walk away- before he says something he’ll regret- but Connie grabs his arm, stopping him. 

“Woah. Steven. You were practically begging to hang out with me yesterday, what gives?” 

“It’s just some important gem stuff came up, that’s all. Aaaand I’ve really got to find Lion.” Steven tries to pull his arm back, but Connie won’t let go.

“Is there anything I can do to help Steven?” Her tone is coloured with concern as she stares at Steven, her brows knit together. 

Tears well up in Steven’s eyes. “Heheh. Not asking any more really tough questions would help.” He sniffles, and throws his arms around Connie in a hug. “I’ll miss you.”

“Steven…?” Connie hugs back, but is clearly quite confused. “It’s… it’s not like I won’t be able to come around anymore. It’s summer vacation now, so I can get here a lot more often… unless… unless you’re the one who won’t be able to see me?”

“I’m sorry Connie.” He pulls away, wiping at his eyes. “I am so sorry, but this is something I have to do.”

“What… What are you doing Steven?” Connie reaches out for him, but he’s already started to walk away, quickly breaking out into a run as he flees the concerned gaze of his closest friend. 

Unable to face anyone else from Beach City- he doesn’t know if he could say goodbye again after that- Steven gives up on finding Lion, just resigned to being cramped in that bubble, and trudges back to his house, freezing right outside the door, hearing voices inside. 

“Pearl! Why are you just sitting in here! We have to find him!” The yelling was easily identifiable as Garnet, and she was clearly very angry. Pearl lets out a barely audible squeak. 

“Garnet. Look around. He’s already been back here. He’s taken a bunch of his things. We’re probably too late.” Pearls voice cracking midway through the sentence, clearly holding back tears.

“He’s not off planet yet!” There’s a slamming noise- maybe Garnet hitting something in anger? “And if he gets off planet, she’ll take him to homeworld! We can’t let that happen!”

Pearl sobs softly. “I-I know, but how are we even going to find him? You can’t pin down any location that it would be more likely for him to be at, and he can use the warps, so he could be anywhere.” She sobs, though it’s muffled, so it might be into her hands or something. “This is all my fault. I gave him the mirror. I did it. Now he’s going to go to Homeworld, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it!”

“Pull yourself together Pearl! We can’t stop trying!”

“What would even happen if we did find him!? You said it yourself. Lapis Lazuli made him distrust us!”

“What would happen is that he wouldn’t go to homeworld Pearl! And that’s all that matters right now! Pull yourself together and go back to looking! If you think he used the warps, then check around all the warp pads!” Loud footsteps approach the door, and Steven quickly dives under the porch to hide. Garnet storms right past him, visibly shaking with anger, and a few moments later he hears the warp activate. With a sigh, he slips into the house, about to jump on the warp, but he hesitates. After a moment he grabs a pad of paper to leave a note for the gems. 

Dear Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl,

I’m sorry. But I have to know the truth about everything. You lied to me. You kept things from me. You held Lapis prisoner. She tells me homeworld is beautiful, and I can find the truth there, so I’m going with her. I’m sure you all do care about me, but you’ve LIED to me about… everything. And I just can’t live with that. So I’m going. I really am sorry though. I’ll miss you guys. You’ll always be my family, even if I might not actually know you at all.

Love, 

Steven Quartz Universe

P.S. Tell all my human friends that I’ll miss them. And don’t forget to tell my dad that either. 

P.P.S. Amethyst is banned from the Big Donut. 

“Goodbye Beach City…” Steven murmurs stepping up on the warp pad. “... Goodbye Earth.” He activates the warp pad, returning to the Galaxy Warp, where Lapis is waiting for him. 

“Well I couldn’t find him, but I feel like I needed to do that any-” Steven looks up as he steps off the domestic warp, stopping mid sentence as he see his big fluffy pink friend, standing right behind Lapis. “Oh, there he is! He was here the whole time!” He chuckles, and Lapis turns around to see what he’s talking about.

"AH! W-w-what IS that thing!?" The Blue Gem falls onto her back, utterly taken by surprise by the large pink feline.

“That’s Lion. Did you get all the stuff?”

“"W-what is he?" She pauses. “A-and it’s right over there.” She gestures to a fairly large pile of stuff on one of the other wap pads. 

"... Lapis. He's a lion. A magical pink lion. I thought it was obvious."

"Wait. Is he a lion or is his name Lion?" Lapis stands up slowly, still staring warily at Lion.

"Both." Steven says cheerfully, walking over to the pile of stuff. “Can you push him over here- he’s not always the best listener- I need to put this stuff in his mane.”

"... What?” Lapis just stands there, staring at Steven like he just started speaking a foreign language. 

“You’re being remarkably unhelpful Lapis.” Steven walks over and pushes Lion toward the pad with the stuff on it. “I mean, that’s all I wanted you to do. Okay buddy, I’m putting this stuff in your mane.” Lion lowers to the ground. Steven grins and shoves his backpack in first.

“... Wha?” Lapis watches, her mouth hanging open in shock as Steven just puts more and more things into Lion’s mane.

“Lion is magic Lapis.” Steven says flatly, before summoning his bubble around him and Lion. “Okay. Steven can go into space now.”

Lapis blinks several times. “Okaaaay. Into space we go.” She awkwardly grabs the bubble and kicks off the ground. Down below them Steven sees the domestic warp activate and Pearl appear on it. He just hears her scream his name before Lapis picks up speed and Pearl and the galaxy warp shrink and eventually vanish from Steven’s view, a single speck on the vast ocean below. 

_“STEVEN!”_

  



	4. Chapter 3: Diamonds reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Lapis get to Homeworld, and everyone is reacting strangely to Steven.

### Chapter 3

##### Diamonds Reunited

After a lot of _very fast_ flying through space- Steven wasn’t sure how those wings worked when there  
was no air, but he wasn’t going to ask- they reach the nearest gem controlled planet, which, even from space, glitters and gleams. It  
looks beautiful. “Woah…” Steven leans forward in his bubble marveling at it. Lapis grins and begins pushing him down towards it  
as fast as she can.

They roar into the atmosphere, Steven laughing exuberantly as they race towards the ground. They crash down in the middle of nowhere, though there is a road nearby, and they’re both just laughing and smiling. They made it. They finally made it. 

Lapis jumps to her feet. “Oh, Steven! Wait until you see it! If you think this planet is beautiful, you’ll be amazed by homeworld!" She grabs his hand and drags him towards the road, Lion following them. When they step onto the road, it suddenly starts glowing a bright white, with small circles of pink under Steven’s feet, and blue under Lapis’. “Woah. That’s new.” Lapis tentatively steps on and off the road, testing this strange occurrence.

Steven stares at it. “Well it doesn’t seem to be doing anything spec-” Steven’s cut off mid-word as the road under their feet starts moving, and does so _very_ quickly. It’s just a few minutes later when both of them reach their destination, violently thrown off the road into a proper city, Lion exiting a portal nearby, the road having not pulled him along.

"Th-that was different.” Lapis stutters climbing back to her feet, and looking around. “But convenient, I suppose, since it took us to a  
city.”

Out of nowhere there’s a spiked club in Lapis’ face, as gem- about as tall as Garnet- steps out of the shadows. She has dark red hair, with bits of blue and orange in it too. She’s wears a purple long sleeve shirt, with an orange strapless shirt on over it, and a blue diamond emblazoned upon it. Her multicoloured round gem is in the middle of her torso. 

"State your name and purpose. Don’t try any tricks, I’ll know if you’re lying.” She growls.

Lapis takes a shaky breath. “Lapis Lazuli. Water transport specialist. Seeking to return to homeworld from failed crystal system colony Earth.” 

"Very well. And you!” She holds her club above Steven’s head. “Your name and purpose. Remember, I’ll know if you lie."

"Steven Universe is the name and… going to homeworld is my game? I dunno."

"I don’t know what you’re playing at, but-” Lapis cuts the angry gem off. 

"Hey, I’m sorry about him. He’s, somehow, half human. He doesn’t know any of the normal gem customs.” Lapis smiles nervously, and the gem  
sighs.

“You’re just lucky that even I know that Blue would KILL me if I killed someone who was supposedly half-gem, half human. She’ll want to study this.” She looks back towards Steven. “Fine then. Just tell me what your gem is, and I’ll have someone escort you to the galaxy warp.”

"Uh, my gem is Rose Quartz.” Steven says slowly.

Lapis goes stiff and turns her head slowly to look over at Steven, her eyes wide and filled with fear.

"Interesting.” The multi-coloured gem says flatly, before pushing a button on some sort of device she has on her wrist. “Blue Lace. Come here. And have Fire send a message back home. _Number 1_ is coming… sort of, along with Lapis Lazuli, water gem under Blue Diamond.” Just a moment later a small blue and white gem comes over. 

"Yes Dragon?” She says timidly, glancing over at Lapis and Steven.

"Escort these two to the Galaxy Warp.” 

"You… you said _Number 1_ was here?"

"That is number one. Or at least it reads as her, and it self-identifies as Rose Quartz.” She glances over at Steven.

Blue Lace also looks over, utterly terrified, at Steven. “Uhm, and you’re sure someone stronger, like yourself, shouldn’t escort someone that important?"

"Eh, look at it. Seems harmless to me. Just do as you’re told Blue Lace." She snaps, vanishing her weapon and marching off. 

The small blue and white gem squeaks, before forcing a smile towards Steven and Lapis. “Well, if you’d just follow me. Th-the galaxy warp is actually in the center of our lovely city.” She titters nervously. “If you’d kindly follow me onto the train here.” She gestures them onto a blank platform, and Steven glances at Lapis, confused. Lapis, for her part, just steps on the platform, so Steven follows her lead. Like the road it begins to glow white, with a coloured zone around every gem on it, and it then shoots up to be next to a glittering thing that must be a train car, but one unlike any train car on earth. It’s shaped like a pill, and is a light blue colour, but it seems to glitter no matter what angle you look at it. It also is hovering slightly above the track, which seems to just be a glowing white line on a thin bridge. There’s no visible connection between each of the train cars, but there is a small gem hovering in the empty air between each of them, putting off a soft pulsing light.

"Woah…” Steven murmurs, which Lapis echos. 

"Woah is right. This is way different than in my day. When did they disconnect the train cars? And the track is a lot smaller than before.”

"A lot of advancements have been made since the war Lapis Lazuli.” Blue Lace mutters, putting her hand on a panel on the car in front of them, and a previously unseen door in it opens. “Enter the car please.” She murmurs slightly. Steven and Lapis step in and Steven looks around in wonder. "It’s all so pretty.” The inside is the same glittering substance as the outside with soft looking dark seating lining the car and a gem embedded in the ceiling that glows to light the whole car. 

"Yeah. I mean, it was beautiful back in my day, but this is something else entirely…” Lapis murmurs, looking around the car as well. “I mean, I’m sure the basic functions of the train haven’t changed, and most of this is just cosmetic, but still...”

"Well it runs better and faster than it did in the past, but for the most part you are correct there Lapis Lazuli.” Blue Lace climbs on and the door closes. “We’ll be at the galaxy warp in just a few moments.”

Steven grins. “Ooo! I can’t wait to see homeworld! It’ll be so cool!”

Blue Lace looks up at him through slitted eyes, her expression indecipherable. “Riiiight.” She says slowly after an awkward pause. After what seems to be an impossibly short span of time, the door slides open. “Well, we’re here.” She stands up, motioning Lapis off the train, and practically herding Steven off. Right before he steps off, she stops him for the briefest of moments. “There are those in the colonies that stand with you, Pink Diamond. But Homeworld is not a very forgiving place to traitors. Be careful. Do anything you can to stay alive, and try to find Indicolite. Pretend I said nothing.” She gently pushes him off the car. “Ask any of the attendants here to warp you back to homeworld. Don’t go alone, that’s strictly forbidden, any of them would be more than willing to help.” She steps back onto the train car, which closes and zooms off at ridiculous speeds.

"Ooookaaaay.” Steven says slowly, and looks around the area, remarkably similar to the galaxy warp on earth, but enclosed, better maintained, and with a few gems milling about, and several light coloured gems just standing stiffly next to warp pads. Steven shrugs off the weird thing Blue Lace whispered to him and taps one of the attendant gems on the shoulder. “Hello! We need to be warped to Homeworld.”

She blinks at him several times, before holding out a device. “Please place your hand here then.”

"Okey-doke.” Steven smacks his hand onto it; it briefly flashes pink, and the gem holding it almost drops it. 

"Uh, uhm. Uh. Okay. And you?” She holds it out to Lapis who puts her hand on it, causing a blue flash. “Okay, well you both passed through approved for interplanetary transport, so right this way.” She clearly seems shocked at this, but she says nothing, and leads right to the biggest warp pad. She activates it, and bows immediately to some unseen entity upon arrival in a very large open area full of warp pads, many more than the two galaxy warps Steven’s already seen. After looking around for a moment in wonder, he notices the tall imposing gem, dressed starkly in whites and greys, with a beautiful clear gem in place of her nose and white hair that goes backward, except two pieces hanging down on either side of her light grey face. Lapis, noticing her about the same moment as Steven drops to her knees, lowering herself almost completely to the ground.

She steps slowly up onto the warp, smiling, one arm behind her back, the other hanging at her side. “Ah. It’s been such a long time. You look so different, Pink. Oh, wait, I’m sorry. You like to be called Rose now, don’t you?”

"Uhm, Hi. I’ve never met you.” Steven says cheerfully, extending a hand upward towards the gem. “I’m Steven Universe. You might be mistaking me for my mom though. Her name was Rose Quartz.”

"... Mom?” The tall gem says slowly, her tone coloured by confusion, with a slight metallic ‘schwing’ sound coming from behind her back, before grasping Steven’s hand in both of hers hesitantly.

Lapis jumps to her feet. “White Diamond, Ma'am!” Lapis blinks several times at her own audacity, and goes back to bowing, but looks up at White Diamond. “He’s half human, you see. He bears his mother’s Gem, but none of her memories. He chose to abandon the Crystal Gems and return to our glorious homeworld when I told him the truth about the war. He’s no traitor. He chose homeworld as soon as he knew it was a thing.”

"Half-Human you say… Hmm. Both of you come with me then.” She leads them out, and onto a train car like the one they were on before, but white instead of blue. The doors close and White Diamond sits carefully and gracefully. “Now, please, do explain how exactly you can be a hybrid?”

"Uh, my mom had me like a human baby, and gave up her physical form to give me her gem? I think. Why’d you call me Pink?”

She raises her eyebrows. “Interesting.” She sighs. “You don’t even know you’re true name? Humans have a slow rearing process, correct? Who exactly was doing that rearing if Pink ceased to exist at your birth?”

"Well, my dad and the Crystal Gems were.” Steven says cheerfully, then frowns. Thinking about them was a bit painful for Steven. 

"The entirety of her remaining army was rearing you?” 

"It’s only three gems.” Lapis speaks up then. “There was a pearl, uh, well actually I guess it was four gems, since I think one of them was a fusion, and there was a gem from the kindergarten among them.”

"Wha? Fusion? Was it Garnet, or Amethyst?” Steven looks towards Lapis, his eyes wide. 

"... The tall one.” She says slowly.

"Garnet’s a fusion! Woah. That’s huge!”

"Pink’s pearl outlived Pink. That’s interesting. I suppose it’s only right that she help rear you. She is bound to serve the bearer of your gem."

"Bound to serve me? What’dya mean by that? And you haven’t exactly explained why you keep calling my mom Pink."

"Oh, nevermind that. It’s not important just yet. Are those there that Lazuli mentioned the only ones left? I know the Red Eye didn’t detect any more gems on Earth, but you two alone prove that was inaccurate."

"We, uh, destroyed the Red Eye.” Steven mutters. “But yeah. It’s just Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl."

"Good to know. Thank you for informing of that.” She sighs. “Hopefully Yellow and Blue actually got my memo. I would hate to keep you waiting even longer than we’re going to have to just because they’re late.”

"Keep me waiting? Where are we even going?” Steven looks around the train car. “This car should have windows.”

"Some of them do. I’ll be sure you’re given a tour of the city later in one that does. Now tell me, do you have all of your mother’s abilities?” She leans toward Steven, smiling warmly. “See, I knew your mother _quite_ well. I’d even say that, before she heartlessly betrayed us, she and I were best friends.”

"Oh. Uhm. Yeah, I think. Though, I haven’t really used the plants and I can’t really summon my weapon consistently yet. Oh! And my healing is in my spit, not my tears!”

"... Are you not yet finished with the rearing process? I‘ll admit I’m no expert on humans. That was always Pink and Blue.”

"... I’m eleven. Humans aren’t considered adults nowadays until they’re eighteen.”

"White Diamond nods. “Well then, I suppose you still have much to learn, and I’ll probably have assign you a fulltime escort, to help keep you out of trouble, since you’re so young and all. Perhaps Yellow could spare Peridot. She would do fine at this job, I think, as you'd also need someone to help..." Her eyes flit to Lapis. "Both of you adjust to the technology here." The doors open up to a large hall split into thirds, each third a different colour- white, which they just exited into, blue to the left, and yellow adjacent to blue, though the hall is oddly shaped, like a fourth of it was just walled off. White Diamond smiles at Steven and Lapis. “I hope you don’t mind having to wait. Right through that door-” She gestures at a silvery-white door to their right. “-is a simple sitting room where you can wait. It’s quite comfortable. If Yellow arrived before us, you should even have your own personal guard waiting for you.” Lapis nods silently and heads over there immediately, but Steven waits, and watches White Diamond walk to the corner that feels like it should be the center of the room and a white light pulls her up and through a hole in the ceiling. 

"Woah…” Steven murmurs in awe, before darting over to the door and joining Lapis in there. 

A very tall, burly orange gem is already standing in the large room, which housed several comfortable looking areas for sitting alongside crystalline tables all in white or very light shades of pink, yellow, and blue. She has darker streaks on her skin in some places, resembling some form of war paint, very long white hair down to her knees, and her orange gem, like White Diamond’s, is in place of her nose. She has her arms crossed and almost appears to be pouting. Steven walks over and grins at the much larger gem.

"Hello! I’m Steven. You are?”

She looks disdainfully down at him. “Jasper.” She growls. “Leave me alone runt. Just sit in a chair and keep quiet.”

"Pfft, you’re not very nice, are you? I was just trying to be friendly. And it’s not my fault I’m short! I’m only eleven!”

"Eleven… hundred?” 

"No, no. Just eleven.” Steven sits down, and smiles at Jasper."

"Yet you claim to be from Earth?” 

"I am from Earth.” Steven chirps, and Lapis sighs.

"Hi, uh, Jasper. I’m Lapis. What Steven is neglecting to mention is that he’s half human.”

"... How could he be half human?” she grunts.

"Well, when a gem and a human love each other very much… Uh… I’m not actually all that clear on the specifics.” He shrugs. “But I am half human. My mom gave up her physical form to have me, so I got her gem.” He pulls up his shirt to reveal his gem, and Jasper’s eyes go very wide.

"Is that… Was your mother Rose Quartz?"

"Yes! Yes she was! Finally! Someone calls her the right name!” Steven throws his hands in the air. “I mean, White Diamond seems very nice, but she kept calling her Pink! Sure, she was the colour pink, but that’s not her name!”

"You, uh, don’t know?” 

"No! He doesn’t know! And we probably shouldn’t be the ones to tell him!” Lapis steps between Steven and Jasper. “So drop it.” 

"Fine, but try and give me an order again Lazuli, and you won’t survive the day.”

"It was more of a suggestion than anything…” Lapis mutters, taking her seat back. 

So, anyway, Jasper. Tell me about yourself.” Steven leans forward in his chair, grinning.

She grunts. “What do you want to know?”

"I dunno. Lots of things. What do you do for fun? What’s your favorite colour? What’s your job? Do you like your job? My job used to be protecting humanity from monsters, but I think I quit.”

"... what an odd and pointless string of questions.” Jasper recrosses her arms and turns away from Steven. “I’m done talking to you.”

"Nuh uh! That’s not fair! I actually answered one of those questions for myself, you can’t answer _none_ of them!” Steven jumps to his feet and marches around to be in front of Jasper. “SO answer!

"Ugh. You certainly are a persistent runt. Fine. my favorite colour is yellow.”

"Ooooh! I was actually expecting you to say orange, but yellow is nice too! I love all colours, so it’s really hard to choose, but if I had to, I’d say my favorite colour is pink. Oh! Now I’ve answered two questions. You have to answer another!” Steven claps his hands together, grinning up at Jasper.

"You don’t give up, do you? Yes, I enjoy my job.” She scoffs. “Are we done yet?”

"No! You have to tell me what your job is at least! Uhm, I liked my job an awful lot when I was still doing it, but I wasn’t allowed to fight the monsters often, which was bad.” 

"Ugh. Fine. But this is the last one. I’m very high ranking on Yellow Diamond’s list of gems to get to punch things. Don’t end up on the list of things to punch, and we’ll get along _swimmingly_."

"... Uh, understood. But if you’re supposed to be guarding me, I don’t see me getting on that list… uh, being a thing that could happen. SO you like punching things? You’re like a giant version of Amethyst!” He snickers. “Are you _sure_ you won’t answer any more questions?”

"Yes.” She growls. “No more questions, or I might put you on that list myself.”

A high pitched snort comes from the doorway. “Yes, why don’t you do that Jasper. I’d _love_ to see Yellow Diamond’s reaction.” The gem standing in the doorway making this statement is kinda oddly proportioned, with very long legs and arms, and fingers that don’t appear to be attached to anything. Her skin is green, and her hair is yellow and shaped into a triangle. Her gem is also green, positioned on her forehead, and she’s wearing a see-through visor covering the top half of her face. 

"What are _you_ doing here Peridot? Shouldn’t you be tinkering on your robinoids?” Jasper sneers, glaring at the lanky green Gem.

"Well, if you really must know, I’ve been hand picked by the Diamond Council to be the permanent escort of the “Steven” and…” Four of the fingers from one arm form into a screen as she checks something. “Lapis Lazuli.” She smiles smugly, crossing her arms, then falters. “Wait, what are _you_ doing here, Jasper?”

I was tasked to guard them immediately upon arrival until the meeting of the Diamond Council was over.” Jasper smirks at Peridot, who sputters. 

"Well… Well I was chosen as their permanent escort!” She huffs, and marches over to a chair, sitting down.

Steven grins, leaning over the arm of his chair toward Peridot. “Heyo! I’m Steven. What’s the Diamond Council? What’s your job? Do you like it? You know, you don’t have to call me ‘the’ Steven. Just Steven will do. Oh! What’s your favorite colour! How do you know Jasper?"

"The ‘Steven’ asks a large amount of questions.” Peridot leans away from Steven, looking bothered, and Jasper bends over to put her arms on the back of Peridot’s chair.

"I could take over if this is too much for you, you know.” She smirks, and Peridot twists around to glare at her. 

"Over my cold, shattered gem, Jasper.” She hisses, before sighing, and turning her attention to Steven. “The Diamond Council is the collective term for our three great leaders. White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, and Blue Diamond. My main job is that of a I maintain many of Yellow Diamond’s most important technologies, and I serve as her main eyes and ears in Blue Diamond’s war research laboratories. And I quite enjoy my job.” She pauses. “Naturally my favorite colour is Yellow-”

"Hey, Jasper's too!” Steven chirps, interrupting her.

"Purely coincidence. Absolutely no correlation is to be made.” She crosses her arms and stares pointedly off at a random spot on the wall. 

"Weeeeell,” Lapis, who was laying draped across a chair sits up, laughing. “You do both work for Yellow Diamond.”

"PURELY COINCIDENCE. No further questions on the matter.” Peridot takes a deep breath and Jasper snickers. “Anyway, that was not the final question. I know Jasper through our work. Not only do we both work under Yellow Diamond, but she’s somewhat frequently assigned to me as an escort on some of my missions.”

"Do you two not get along? Or are you just friends who like to tease each other?” Steven smiles at Peridot, and she bristles uncomfortably.

"We get along as well as we must to do our jobs, but no. We are not friends, nor are we any lesser synonyms of the word.”

"What's wrong with synonyms of friend? I like some of them. Buddy! Pal! Amigo! They’re all good words!”

"Ugh, they are pointless, and sound ridiculous.” Peridot crosses her arms and scowls. “Do you have any more questions ‘Steven’?”

"Uh, uh, uh. Yes! What do you do for fun!?” Steven jumps to his feet grinning, and Peridot just stares at him blankly.

"... My job.” 

"I mean outside of work!” Steven grins at Peridot.

"I…” She scowls, her eyes flitting over to Jasper as she blushes slightly. “I build robinoids even in my free time. I find doing so enjoyable.” 

"That’s cool! Pea-...” Steven cuts himself off, his voice trailing away, and he frowns. “Ah, nevermind. It’s not important.” He falls back into his chair. “So why are Lapis and I so important that we get a bodyguard, and an escort, and apparently the leaders of all gems meeting over our arrival?”

"I… don’t know exactly. I was just messaged by Yellow Diamond directly, and she told me to come here and that I was now assigned as the permanent escort of ‘Steven’ and Lapis Lazuli.” She shrugs. “I simply operated under the assumption that it either did not matter as to why, or that I would be informed later in person.”

"I was intending the latter option Peridot, though it is good to know you would have found the former acceptable.”

Peridot lurches to her feet and salutes the gem who just spoke. She has yellow coloured hair that’s in two big spikes that point forward, and has a yellow gem on her chest. Her skin is a light yellow, and her clothing has very large shoulder pads. With her is White Diamond and a blue gem. The blue gem has dark blue hair in the shape of a circle, blue skin, and a blue gem on her forehead.

Jasper also stood up straight and saluted the yellow gem, and Lapis went on her knees bowing to the blue gem. 

"Oh. Lapis Lazuli. I had assumed you had been shattered. Good to see that wasn’t the case.” The blue gem says softly, staring down with an almost emotionless expression at Lapis.

White Diamond saunters over to a couch near Steven and gracefully sits down, smiling warmly at Steven. “Now, Steven. You asked me earlier as to why I was calling your mother Pink, rather than the Rose you know her as. Well, you see, I was actually calling her by her original name, rather than the name she gave herself when she betrayed us. Her original name was Pink Diamond, and she was a valued member of the Diamond Council.” She pauses, staring at Steven.

"... What!?” He pulls up his shirt, staring at the pink gem in place of his naval. “My mom was… Pink Diamond!? Really? I mean, why… why did the Crystal Gems never tell me that! They lied to me about everything! … I can’t believe they even lied to me about who my mom really was…” He sighs. “Well I guess that explains why everyone was acting so odd…”

White Diamond gently puts a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re one of us. We won’t lie to you like that.” 

"And on the topic of you being one of us, we want to, in time, return to the original Diamond Council.” Blue Diamond smiles slightly, though her voice barely leaves a monotone.

"It’ll take you a while to get accustomed to being a Diamond and life on Homeworld, and you still have to grow up some, right?” Yellow Diamond chuckles.

"But with you Steven, we can return Homeworld and the whole Gem Empire to it’s former glory. We were irrevocably damaged when your mother left us, but with your help we can repair the hole she left. So, Steven, are you willing to be our Pink Diamond?” White Diamond holds out her hand towards Steven, and after a moment’s hesitation, he shakes her hand.

"I will, but… I’d like to still be called Steven.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Sorry about the OCs. There will be some more in the story, unfortunately. Since, there are very few known Homeworld gems. The focus will always be on Canon characters.


	5. Chapter 4: The Glittering City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven gets a tour of Homeworld's capital.

### Chapter 4

##### The Glittering City

“So, Peridot. Where are you taking us first?” Steven has his face pressed against the window of the train as it zooms in circles around the city, no set destination yet. “It all looks beautiful, but I want to see it close up!” He pulls away from the window, and grins at the disgruntled green gem, sitting angrily in one of the corner seats of the train. 

“I never asked to be a tour guide…” She glares at the floor, her arms crossed. “But I suppose we can start with The Grand Archives. They are certainly my favorite place in the city, other than my home.” 

“Oooo! What are the Grand Archives!?” Steven darts across the train car and sits down next to Peridot, who sighs. 

“The Grand Archives are… a library of sorts. They contain copies every bit of data or writing that’s ever been created in the great gem empire. It is truly a great marvel to behold...” Peridot’s eyes shine, as she stares out the window, and one of her fingers, moves towards the wall, activating some sort of panel that has a glowing map on it it. Peridot glances towards the panel for a moment, and her finger taps something on it, the panel vanishes, and the train car they’re in separates from the rest, sliding over to a different track and zooming in the opposite direction. “We will be there shortly. I suppose you could catch up on your gem history some while we’re there, since I imagine you are dreadfully undereducated on the subject.” 

“I know like, _no_ gem history, so I think ‘dreadfully undereducated’ is an understatement.” Steven flops back on the cushion. “Do gems have fiction?” 

Peridot blinks few times. “Of course. Most anything that would make use of one's imagination is classified under the arts, which gemkind has in excess, of course. We have much in the arts just as we do in our sciences.” 

“Are there any cool places for the arts we could visit? I like music! Darn, I wish I had brought my ukulele with me from Earth.” 

“You don’t need Earth objects. We could stop and get you any instrument that you could dream of if you so desire. You are royalty. You get to have whatever you want.” 

“Like a ukulele?” 

“Certainly. I’m sure we could find something like your Earth ukulele, but that will be later. Our first stop is the Archives.” The car comes to a stop and the doors open into empty room, with simple brown tiled floors and dark brick walls that glitter slightly, in the far back of the room there is a single gleaming black door, with no visible knob. “This is just a waypoint room between the Archives and the private train entrance. I’ll have to open the door, because I don’t think your gem has been reapproved for any level of access yet.” Peridot climbs out of the train ahead of Steven and Lapis, though they trail right behind her as she presses her fingers against the door, which causes five yellow lines to spread across the door from where her digits connected, and it opens along those lines, sort of like how the temple door back on earth opens. She gestures them through the door into a large room, with ceilings so high two Sugalites could stand on each other’s shoulders inside it and still not hit the ceiling. The tiled floor and glittering walls from the previous room continue into this room, the walls completely filled by shelves full of books that go almost all the way to the vaulted ceilings. The walls are lined with what look to be gleaming black podiums that all have a handprint on top. 

“Hmm. Not that different from the last time I was here. The podiums are new, but other than that.” Lapis glances around the room, her lips pursed. 

“What reason did you have for ever coming here Lazuli? You would have worked in the colonies as a water transporter, yes?” 

“... To talk to my boss. Blue Diamond. Back in the day at least she would spend an awful lot of her time here.” Lapis crosses her arms glaring at Peridot. “And I would prefer you call me Lapis.” 

“Woah! Is everything gems make this big and impressive!?” Steven grins at Peridot, who rolls her eyes. 

“Mostly.” Peridot walks over to one of the podiums. “I suppose you should learn about your own gem and what your mother has done first. It’s generally restricted information, but Yellow Diamond was supposed to have unlocked it for me.” She places her fingers on the handprint on one of the raised platforms and a screen projects up from the podium. “Show me the general history of Pink Diamond.” A bunch of images and text whirl across the screen and Peridot sighs. “Read aloud please.” She scoffs. “Because I will _not_ stand here and read all of that to you.” 

“In our Great Empire Pink Diamond was once known as the Life Diamond, not only for her healing tears which could bring even the most damaged gems from the brink of destruction, but for her job in running the kindergartens and setting up colonies to spread our beautiful culture across the cosmos. She served the Empire first, and was even considered by many to be the kindest of the Diamonds. She was certainly the most loved of the royal Gems, though all Diamonds were loved and respected by their people. But everything changed on failed Crystal System Colony Earth. Pink Diamond betrayed all she had ever stood for and began slaughtering her own kind in the name of protecting a primitive Ape-like species known as “Humans”. The once beloved Life Gem was now the Great Betrayer. Would you like me to continue?” 

“No, I think that’s enough.” Peridot crosses her arms and looks down at a watery-eyed Steven. “Is that a good start for you?” 

“Uh, I guess.” Steven stares at some of the images showing on the screen, which includes a picture of Rose looking serene surrounded by bubbled gem shards and another of some gem impaled on her sword, which is held triumphantly in the air. “Uh. Uhm. Actually. No. I want to know about the other Crystal Gems. That only mentioned my mother.” 

Peridot scoffs. “Just more traitors, but fine. Whatever you desire Steven.” She looks back to the podium. “Show me the general history of The Crystal Gems. Automatically initiate read aloud mode please.” 

“The Crystal Gems is the name given to the traitors that chose to side with Pink Diamond in her betrayal. They consisted mainly of outcasts or firebrands that were always seeking to stir up trouble. No good gems became traitors and sided with Pink Diamond. The Crystal Gems shattered thousands of their own kind and left a permanent scar in our society with underground terrorist groups such as the Pink Diamond Legion. Would you like me to continue?” 

“No. Again, that should be enough.” Peridot removes her fingers, and looks down at Steven, who’s really just focused on one picture on the screen. Pearl. Pearl holding Rose’s flag triumphantly in what looks like the Strawberry Battlefield. Her clothing is different, but there’s really no mistaking it in Steven’s mind. 

“Th-that should be enough.” He wipes at his eyes. “Can we go see Arts things now?” 

“Why is the Steven crying…?” Peridot squeaks to herself, before shaking her head and herding him and Lapis back through the door they came in. “Yes. We can go and see the Arts things, though I was intending to show you the most important monuments first, since I get the implication you are a fan of the arts and will spend much time in those places.” 

“Monuments first works for me.” Steven mutters, sitting down in the train car. 

Lapis sits next to him, gently putting an arm around his shoulders. “Hey, cheer up Steven.” He looks at her with watery eyes, and she grins and makes a fart noise into her hand, which gets Steven cracking up. “Look, I know that stuff can’t be easy for you to hear, but you came here to find out the truth, didn’t you?” 

He smiles at Lapis, wiping at his eyes. “I know, you’re right. It’s just… The Crystal Gems were like my family… and to find out they’re murderers and just generally bad people makes my stomach hurt, I guess.” 

“Hey, don’t let it get you down. Me and Peri can be your new family.” 

“The proper phrasing is Peri and I- Wait! I never agreed to this! And do not call me Peri! Peridot! It is not difficult.” 

“Oh, come on Dot.” Steven grins. “Please be a part of my new family, I mean, you’re going to be around me all the time, right?” 

“Is there is any chance at all that I could convince you to stop shortening my name?” 

“... Nah. I like Dot.” Steven snickers. “But, seriously. Be a part of my new family Peridot! Family is great!” The train stops and the doors open to an open air circle surrounded by tall glittering buildings and the train paths twisting around. In the middle of the circle is a large opaque glass dome that’s split into quarters, one quarter made with glass coloured to match each of the Diamonds. 

“Ugh. Well, welcome to the dome of gemkind. Also one of the few places where they did not take any measures to erase Pink Diamond, as it would be a great disrespect to the shattered gems that it was built for. Go on in, it will automatically open, since anyone is allowed to visit the dome of gemkind.” Steven runs forward and in through the panel in the glass that opened up as he approached. As he walked in the gem shards lining the walkway and the panes of glass in the pink quarter light up brightly, which momentarily distracts Steven from the rest of it. 

“Oh. I had actually forgotten it did that. The Diamonds visit this place so rarely... They recognize your presence Steven. They know you’re Pink Diamond.” 

Steven looks around the dome, taking it all in. In the center of the dome is a large fountain, with the bricks composing it split into the colours of the quarters as well. There are glowing gem shards embedded in every pink brick, making the water shimmer and shine. Encircling the inside of this dome is an ever spinning thin circle in the ground full of what looks like iridescent glittering rainbow sand that flows magically up to the ceiling in four arcs from the center of each coloured quarter to meet just above fountain and spray like it’s own fountain towards roof of the dome, from where it slides down the glass walls like a thin rainbow waterfall back into the circle on the ground. The glowing gem shards near the walls are causing it to throw off an iridescent light that just makes the sight even more beautiful. 

“This… this is amazing, Dot. And this was around before my mom betrayed homeworld?” 

“As far as I know the dome of gemkind, and the Fountain of the Diamonds, and Falls of the Fallen in it have been around as long as the Diamond Council has been around. It truly is impressive. I can only imagine the spectacle if all four diamonds were in here at once.” 

“Yeah, I remember this place. On the inside it hasn’t changed at all.” Lapis pulls some of the water from the fountain, spinning it around in her hands, before putting it back. “Though I never saw it when there was a Diamond present. I didn’t know it would glow…” 

“It’s really, really, amazing! I didn’t know gems could do things like this…” Steven beams at Peridot. “I mean, you should have showed me this place first! Seriously, WOW!” 

“Duly noted, should I ever find myself with the -demeaning and far below my rank- task of a tour guide ever again.” 

“So what’s this sand?” Steven follows one of the arcs with his eye. “It’s rainbow coloured and really sparkly.” 

“Very finely grained minerals of various colours.” She looks up at the point where the arcs meet. “It’s supposed to stand as a monument to every gem that has ever been shattered in the process of serving the Diamond Council.” 

“So it’s sorta like a war veteran’s monument? Huh, well it’s really, really pretty. I bet none of the other monuments will even be close to as cool as this one!” 

“No, this is certainly the most visually impressive, especially for the time it was built.” She frowns. “But I assumed you would appreciate it the most, since it was the only one that still included your mother, and therefore you.” 

Steven hugs Peridot’s legs. “Thank you! I love it!” 

She recoils. “Please. Do not touch me again Steven.” 

“Aww, Dot. It’s a hug. It’s a sign of affection! It means I like you!” Steven snickers. “So where are we going next!?” 

“A… a sign of affection?...” She frowns, looking vaguely bothered. “Well I request that you not do it again Steven.” She clears her throat. “As to where we are going next I thought the Statue of Perfection would be a good of a choice as any.” 

“Oooooo! What’s the Statue of the Perfection?” Steven bounces on the balls of his feet, grinning up at Peridot. 

Peridot blinks slowly, and tries to stop Steven from bouncing pushing down on his head with her fingers. She doesn’t have enough force to actually stop him, but he gets the idea, and stops bouncing, even though he’s _super_ excited. “It’s a depiction of the fusion of the three Diamonds into one entity. The image of absolute perfection and power.” 

“That sounds really cool, but wouldn’t the ‘absolute’ image of perfection and power include my mom?” Steven tilts his head to the side, and Peridot sputters. 

“Look, I’m just telling you what I’ve always been told. Certainly, logically speaking ALL of the diamonds would have to be fused for it to be an _ABSOLUTELY_ perfect fusion, but it was probably built after she betrayed homeworld! I don’t know okay!” 

“Well, can we go see it?” 

“Uh, Peri, I’m not so sure… Oh never mind. It doesn’t matter. Let’s go see the fusion statue!” Lapis throws her hands in the air and marches back to the train. 

“What was that all about?” Peridot asks Steven, who just shrugs in response, before following Lapis. 

Peridot runs after them. “Hey! You can’t leave without me! Neither of you know how to steer a train car!” 

“Well then you need to hurry up slowpoke. Some of us want to get on with the tour.” Lapis sticks her tongue out at Peridot, who scoffs, and storms back to her corner seat, idly setting the new course with her fingers. 

“Honestly, you two are ridiculous.” Peridot mutters. “Never in all of my existence have I have met such childish, obnoxious, and illogical gems.” 

“Do I get a pass on being childish, since I’m still a child?” Steven chuckles. 

“No. Because you are a Diamond, and you should act like one. You have no grace. It’s horrible.” 

“... Rude much.” He turns to Lapis. “I mean, really. How rude of her.” 

“Oh, yes. That was very rude of her.” Lapis snickers. “I mean, you just got here. How could she expect you to behave with all the regality of a diamond already?” 

“Exactly! I didn’t even know I was diamond before today! It was just so rude!” 

“Hey, Steven, maybe we should report her for being so rude. I mean after all, she is supposed to be our gracious escort!” Lapis doubles over laughing, and Steven joins in. 

“The over the top reaction was not necessary.” Peridot mutters, glaring at both of them. 

“It was fun though Dot, and that’s what matters.” Steven grins broadly. The doors to the train car open, and Peridot groans. 

“Great. I’m watching over two gems that prioritize fun over reason. Well we’re here. Welcome to the Statue of Perfection.” 

Stepping out of the train, the trio stands at the base of a statue that’s easily 50 feet tall. It has 8 arms, just as many eyes, and three gems; one on the forehead, one in place of the nose, and one on the chest. It’s hair is short, but consists of very poofy curls, spreading out in an almost circular shape, with two larger curls facing the front and smaller corkscrew curls down either side of the face. All together is almost resembles a fierce lion’s mane, that is if a lion’s manes could be curled. On that thought Steven looks around wildly. 

“Wait a second! Where’s Lion!?” Steven shouts, which get’s Lapis looking around too, but merely confuses Peridot. 

“... Lion? What are you speaking about Steven?” 

Lapis laughs. “I don’t think he’s been with us since the colony Steven. He didn’t get on the Galaxy Warp with us.” 

“... He’ll be here.” Steven says after a moment. “He’ll be here.” 

“Will anyone explain what in Diamond’s light you’re talking about?” 

“Oh, my pet Lion… Er, well, he’s sorta a pet. He really just does whatever he wants, but he always seems to be around when I need him.” 

Peridot blinks several times. “Well, whatever… he is, if you left it at a colony, you are probably never going to see it agaaaiiaaaaah!” Peridot is cut off by being scooped up onto Lions back from behind. 

“See! There he is!” Steven runs over and pets Lion. “Hey buddy. That’s Peridot, she’s cool.” 

Peridot rolls off Lion and hits the ground, her limbs making a metallic clang. She sits bolt upright, staring with fearful eyes at Lion. “Oh my stars! What is that thing!? Is it some sort of corrupted gem?! How did it get here!?” 

Steven laughs. “Lion isn’t gem. Sure, he’s magical, but he’s not a gem. Lion is a magical lion.” 

“... and what, pray tell, is a lion?” Peridot squeak, awkwardly, scooting away from Lion. 

“An animal from Earth, but Lion is magic. I wouldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for him.” Steven casually reaches into Lion’s mane and pulls out a small bag of chips, which he opens and starts eating. “I mean, we had to go through _SPACE_. Outer Space! And I could only carry so much food and air in my bubble but Lion has lots of room in his mane.” 

Peridot slowly stands back up and walks back over, watching Lion warily the whole time. “And he won’t harm me?” 

“Of course not!” Steven scratches Lion’s ears. “He’s just a big, pink, magical kitty!” 

“Very well, but I’m going to have to report this.” She says slowly. 

“Oh no! He doesn’t break any rules, does he?” 

“I… don’t know off hand. Maybe.” She clears her throat. “Now, are you done observing the Statue of Perfection? Because I am ready to move on when you are.” 

“Yeah, I think I am. Lapis?” 

Lapis glances furtively up at it, then shrugs. “Yeah. sure. What’s next?” 

“Well I was thinking that none of the other monuments are particularly awe inspiring, and Steven seemed eager to see the centers of the arts, so I thought I would take us to the Facet Academy.” 

Lapis grins. “Hey, I was trained at the Facet Academy! I wouldn’t be nearly as good with my water manipulation had I not.” 

“Any gem who’s even moderately successful has had some amount of training at the Facet Academy, whether it was in the arts, or sciences, or yes, military training. I also attended, specializing in technology. It helped me refine my already present skills, which is what it did for Laz- Lapis, as well.” 

They get back on the train, though Lion stays where he is. “See you later buddy!” Steven waves goodbye to Lion before the door closes and the train is off again. Not a minute later- the school must’ve been really close, the train stops again. 

“Welcome to the Facet Academy. You can learn just about anything here, except Social Sciences. There used to be a branch for them, but it shut down long ago. I’m not entirely sure as to why though.” She glances at Steven. “This is where we can pick you up a … er, ukulele?” 

“Yup! That’s my instrument of choice!” Steven chirps, and Peridot sighs. 

“Then you’ll want to go that way, to the arts area.” She holds out her hand to Steven. “Take one of my fingers. If someone questions you, just have them scan that.” 

“Why don’t you want to come?” Steven slowly grabs one of her fingers. 

“Ugh, because every time I go there the ‘fashion’ gems obsess over my limbs, and it’s obnoxious.” She crosses her arms, her expression very disgruntled. 

Steven just shrugs. “If you say so. I’ma get a ukulele though!” He laughs, and runs back there, finding a music hall with no trouble, and practically having a ukulele forced upon him once they scanned Peridot’s finger. Steven puts it on, quietly strumming it as he skips back out to Peridot. “Okey. I’ve got my ukulele!” 

“That instrument is puny.” She scoffs. “But if that is what you like… so be it.” She uncrosses her arms. “We could look around the other branches as well if you’d like to.” 

“Nah, maybe another day. I wanna see more places!” Steven claps his hands together. “SO! Where to next?” 

“I was thinking we could see the Diamond Crowne Theatre. There aren’t any shows on right this moment, but the building itself is ancient and beautiful. And if we take no more than ten minutes there, we can go to the Jewelsong Concert Hall, just in time to catch a performance by the hall’s own orchestra, which- Lapis, you will like this- plays mostly older songs from the golden age of gem society, before the war.” 

“That sounds great to me!” Steven beams. “Off we go!” Steven runs back onto the train car, followed swiftly by Lapis and Peridot. “You know, it was really nice of you to time things so we could go to that show Peridot.” 

“Don’t mention it. Seriously. Don’t. I do not want another… hug.” 

“Pffft. Hugs are great!” Steven jumps on his seat, then falls off onto the floor. “I’m okay!” He jumps back to his feet, laughing at himself. Just as he sits back down, the train doors open. 

Steven springs back to his feet and out the doors, grinning widely at the cathedral-like building. It was only 3 stories tall- rather short for buildings in this city, but it’s still quite grand with white stone spires and statues resembling gargoyles dotted along its walls. The windows are all stained glass, depicting various scenes. None of the images mean anything to Steven, but they look really nice. He runs inside smiling from ear to ear, as he looks at all the breathtaking architecture, from the vaulted ceilings covered in murals, to the intricately carved pillars, it’s all stunning. 

Peridot steps up behind him. “There’s a stage on every floor, so theoretically there could be three shows going on at once, but there’s rarely more than two. All the floors have the same general look.” 

“It’s amazing.” Steven murmurs. “This building is nothing like any of the other ones I’ve seen since we got here.” 

Peridot blinks. “Well, that’s because it’s old. The concert hall has the same general aesthetic. I’ve sent notice ahead that we’re going to see the concert, so I expect they’ll be waiting for us.” 

Lapis squeals with excitement. “Oh! I am SO excited for this concert. It just might be what I need for all this new craziness to actually feel like home!” 

“Perhaps we should get going then. Come back here on another day when there is actually a show.” Peridot turns and walks out without another word. Steven and Lapis glance at each other and shrug before following. 

“Oh, I am so curious what gem music sounds like! I bet it’s really pretty!” Steven starts strumming on his ukulele again, sorta slipping into that old song he wrote about the crystal gems when he first learned how to play the ukulele. He stops abruptly when he realizes what he was playing. 

“Hey, what was that Steven? It was really good.” Lapis grins at him, and he blinks slowly. 

“Just some dumb song I wrote when I was really little. Nothing important.” 

The train stops and the doors open to a similar grand building to the previous one. It’s about as tall as the previous one, but since these stained glass windows- of no particular images, just in a variety of colours- stretch almost all the way to the roof, there’s probably no more than one floor in there. 

Approaching the door, all three of them are stunned to see a four diamond symbol on it, shining with it’s newness. “That is… unexpected. Take this as a sign of welcome Steven. They want to honor your position as a Diamond, so they returned to the old symbol of the Diamond Council.” 

“Woah. That’s… really cool, actually.” They go in, and a few gems look over in shock, but the gems in the center of this front hall continue putting down new floor tiles to remake the old symbol, not even noticing that the Pink Diamond they are honoring by swapping to the old symbol just walked in. Someone runs over. 

“Pink Diamond! Peridot! Lapis Lazuli! Welcome! Don’t mind our quick renovations, we at the Jewelsong Concert Hall just wanted to be the first to formally welcome Pink Diamond back to homeworld.” She timidly extends a hand toward Steven. 

Steven shakes the gem’s hand. “Thanks, but I should note that my name is Steven, and I would prefer to be called that.” 

“O-of course! Steven! Of course! Well, right this way! We reserved the best three seats in the hall for you!” The three are lead up a set of stairs to a small balcony area and shown to a trio of seats right in the front, all the gems already here turning to gawk at their arrival. It makes Lapis and Peridot uncomfortable, but Steven cheerfully says hello a bunch, and even shakes a few hands. He takes his seat and leans against the railing, eagerly waiting for the show to start. 

After a few minutes all the lights dim and the curtains open to reveal an orchestra. The first few songs pass without incident, other than Steven whispering to Lapis and Peridot about how beautiful the songs are, but then one strikes a chord in Steven. He knows it from somewhere. It takes him a moment to figure it out, but when he does… _Pearl_. 

Steven covers his mouth, choking back a sob. Pearl hummed this all the time when she was cleaning. Regret crashes over Steven like a wave, and, while he manages to stay silent, tears start streaming down his face. After that he doesn’t pay much attention to the show anymore and he’s suddenly struck with how big of a mistake he’s made. Sure, they lied to him, but… But they love him! And he just abandoned them! So lost is Steven in these thoughts, Lapis has to grab his shoulder so he knows the show is over. 

“Steven are you okay?” Lapis grabs both of his shoulders gently, looking him in the eyes. 

“I… I want to go home.” He sniffles, wiping at his eyes. 

Peridot looks at him confused. “Okay then. I can have it take us to our new quarters. I suppose you are half human. You likely need rest. It has been a very long day…” 

“...Yeah. I’m tired…” He sighs, and walks back to the train car, sitting down, silent tears still streaming down his face. 

  



	6. Chapter 5: Crystal Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at what's been going on with the Crystal Gems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is a little different. The first (but not last) one that doesn’t follow Steven, and also the first one without a consistent POV. It’ll switch several times in this chapter, though I’ll try to make it clear when it does, though it’ll flow smoothly between them, since it’s all 3rd person. It’s also a little different chronologically. It starts timewise right at the end of Drool me a River, but ends a little while after The Glittering City.

### Chapter 

##### Crystal Falls

 _“STEVEN!”_ Pearl reaches hopelessly up as Lapis Lazuli steals him away into the sky and off the Earth, not taking her eyes off his rapidly disappearing form until she could simply no longer see him. “Steven...” She sobs, collapsing to her knees right there on the warp pad. Her body shakes with sobs as she curls in on herself. Losing Rose didn’t hurt this bad. Steven is gone and it’s all her fault. _She gave him the mirror._ And she was _seconds_ too late to save him. Now… now he’s going to Homeworld, where they’ll kill him. Or worse. _And it’s all her fault._ Not only did she give him the mirror. Not only was she _just_ too late to save him, but she’s the one who said they should hide the darker stuff from him until he’s older. It’s her fault that he doesn’t trust them anymore. It’s… It’s all her fault.

“I’m sorry.” She chokes out to the empty air. “I’m sorry Rose. I couldn’t protect him.” She starts sobbing even harder. “I’m sorry, Steven.” Time becomes meaningless as Pearl lays there at the Galaxy warp continuously sobbing.

Sometime later the warp pad activates and Garnet appears next to Pearl, and sighs, seeing the sorry state she’s in. She bends over and gently picks Pearl up. Pearl, for her part, barely seems to notice. Garnet warps back to the house, feeling very torn in more ways than one, and gently sets Pearl down on the couch.

“Oh! Good! You found her!’ Amethyst jumps up, and glances worriedly over at Pearl. “Eeeeh... Where’d you find her?”

“The Galaxy Warp.” Garnet says in a flat tone that shows nothing of her inner turmoil. _**‘Why couldn’t you find him!’** ‘Me? You’re seriously blaming me me for this!? If it’s anyone’s fault it’s yours Ruby! You wouldn’t let me search long enough to find him!’ **‘You weren’t searching! You were looking at increasingly impossible possibilities! I WAS THE ONE WHO WANTED TO SEARCH! YOUR FUTURE VISION WAS USELESS!**_

“The Galaxy Warp? It’s all busted. What was she doing th-” Amethyst is interrupted by Garnet keeling over. Unfusing in a brilliant turmoil of red and blue light.

“Useless? You dare call my future vision useless when it’s saved our lives THOUSANDS of times!” Sapphire screams, the floor around her freezing near instantaneously.

“Yeah! USELESS! It was the OPPOSITE of helpful the ONE TIME WE **REALLY** NEEDED IT!” The floor under Ruby’s feet starts smoking.

“Oh please! Like you making us run all around Beach City accomplished ANYTHING! He didn’t even leave from here! I TOLD YOU the Galaxy Warp was one of the more likely locations he could leave from, but you just dismissed it because it was no more than a 15% chance! WELL 15% IS BETTER THAN NOTHING! AND GUESS WHAT! **HE LEFT FROM THE GALAXY WARP!** And maybe my future vision would have been more certain had _you_ not let your emotions get in the way of it and skewed the results!”

“YOU SAID IT WAS UNLIKELY! **AND AT LEAST I HAVE EMOTIONS YOU UNFEELING ROBOT!** ”

Amethyst shakes her head rapidly and bolts from the building, running from the anger and self-loathing emanating from the house. She spends the next several hours breaking rocks on the beach to get her frustration out, before returning to the house, hoping that things have calmed down by now. The scene she walks in on is… better. Pearl is still curled up in a ball sobbing, but Ruby and Sapphire aren’t screaming at each other… they’re sitting on opposite sides of the room in utter silence, backs to each other.

Looking around the room, she groans, and chooses her battle to fight. Her and Pearl don’t always get along, but they used to be really close, so _maybe_ just _maybe_ Amethyst can help her, and she wouldn’t know where to even _start_ with Ruby and Sapphire. Taking a deep breath, she steels herself and gently sits down on the couch next to Pearl. “Hey, Piorgi.” Pearl doesn’t even seem to notice Amethyst, and Amethyst sighs, and tenderly puts a hand on Pearl’s head, which did get the weeping gem’s attention, if barely. Her eyes open, and she glances up at Amethyst, before sobbing even harder.

Amethyst sighs, and grabs Pearl’s shoulders, forcing her into an upright position, which she does stay in once Amethyst lets go of her, sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, still shaking with sobs.

“P, it’s gonna be okay. We… Well, I mean, we can’t just give up…” She flounders for words that might make the taller gem feel even a smidge better, when out of the blue Pearl throws herself at Amethyst, bawling into her shoulder. Amethyst sighs, hugging Pearl; if being a shoulder to cry on helps, this works.

“I-i-it’s all my fault!” She wails. “It’s my fault!”

“No, no, no. P, it’s La-” Amethyst tries to reassure Pearl but is drowned out by Ruby turning around and yelling at Sapphire again.

“AND WHY THE HELL DID YOU TELL _PEARL_ TO CHECK THROUGH THE WARPS IF YOU THOUGHT HE WOULD LEAVE FROM THE GALAXY WARP! SHE IS **LITERALLY** THE WORST PERSON TO HAVE SENT TO DO THAT!”

Sapphire whirls around. “ME!? I don’t know how you’ve forgotten already, but YOU are the one who thought Pearl should check around the warps if she thought he might have warped out!”

Unable to take any more of this nonsense, Amethyst flees to her room.

It’s several days before she comes out again. Ruby and Sapphire- still unfused, because, OF COURSE that problem can't have just resolved itself-were sitting on the couch, silently glaring at each other, and it takes Amethyst a moment to find Pearl, curled up on Steven’s bed, utterly silent and just blankly staring at the wall.

She walks into the kitchen and silently starts eating a bag of stale chips, just staring over at the currently silent room.

After finishing the chips, she glances up at Pearl, and sighs. Maybe she should make another stab at helping?

She climbs up to Steven’s bed and sits down next to Pearl. “Heyo P.” Pearl has no reaction, and just continues staring blankly at the wall. Amethyst places a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “Pearl?” Still nothing. She moves to be in front of Pearl, looking her in the eyes. “Pearly! Say something!? Anything!” Pearl has no reaction, just staring blankly in front of her still, almost as if she were looking straight through her concerned friend, at something far, far away, and Amethyst flops back with a groan. When did SHE become the responsible one!?

Over the next several hours she tries to talk to Ruby and Sapphire, getting nearly burned then nearly frozen in the process, and by late afternoon she’s just laying on the kitchen counter, bored, angry, and frustrated.

Just a little while later, the only thing happening in the meantime being Ruby and Sapphire beginning to quietly bicker, Greg walks in, seeming cheerful… for about 2 seconds till he notices that _something_ is **very** wrong here, what with Pearl’s catatonic staring and Garnet being defused at all _and_ her two halves quietly arguing each other. "Hey guuuuuuysuuuuuhhhhh... Is this a bad time?"

Amethyst sits up, glaring at him. "Ugh, what do you want, Greg?"

"I, uh, I was just wondering where Steven is. He hasn't swung by the carwash in a few days, and I came to check if he was okay." Greg rubs to back of his head

Ruby and Sapphire go dead silent, Pearl sits bolt upright, and after a second starts sobbing uncontrollably again. Amethyst groans, flinching as Ruby and Sapphire start screaming at each other again, and drags Greg out of the house by his elbow.

“I have no freaking idea how I ended up being the one who has to tell you this Greg…” Amethyst mutters, kicking at the ground.

All the colour drains from Greg’s face. “What… what happened to Steven? Is he hurt? Is… Is he d-d-”

“Nonono, at least… I don’t think so. He…” She runs her hands through her hair in frustration. “Ugh, there was this whole stupid thing with a magic mirror that had a gem trapped in it, and Steven freed her, and then he just vanished into the ocean and according to Garnet she took him to Homeworld, which is really, really bad, but I don’t think he’s…. well, uh, dead.” She groans, and kicks a rock in half. “Look, Greg, I’m sure we’re gonna get him back, they just need to pull themselves together! Pearl is blaming herself for this, and Garnet… Is kinda also blaming herself in that her two halves blame each other, so somehow I’m the only one with any sense around here…”

“H-homeworld? As in your guy’s home planet? Where Rose… is basically the ultimate traitor?” Greg squeaks, his eyes going very wide. “When!? Why?! I don’t understand!? Why would he be going there with this gem!? How would he even get there with this… mirror gem!?” He pulls on his hair.

“Eeeeh, it was almost a week ago at this point, I think. I dunno. I sorta lost track of time. It was on the first day of summer, that night, that he disappeared into the ocean with her.”

“... I… saw him the next day. He was looking for Lion, and seemed freaked out. He… was asking all sorts of questions about what to do when someone lies to you.”

Amethyst’s eyes go wide. “YOU SAW HIM!? WE WE’RE LOOKING FOR HIM EVERYWHERE AND HE WAS ACTUALLY IN BEACH CITY THE WHOLE TIME!?”

“Yeah, he seemed really distracted too, since he ran right into me…” He pauses. “He actually… he actually asked if he should stop ‘hanging around’ someone he cared about if he found out they were lying to him about everything…”

Amethyst sighs. “He… He was talking about us. Lapis told him about the war. Probably told him Homeworld’s side.” She covers her face with her hands. “Ugh. I HATE Lapis Lazuli! It’s all her fault! SHE STOLE STEVEN!” Amethyst wipes away a few angry tears. “Look, Greg, I’m sorry. Soon as those two can pull themselves together, we will do everything we can to get Steven back, okay.”

“Get Steven back? Where did he go?” A small voice says from nearby. Greg and Amethyst both whirl to see a scared looking Connie, tears already beginning to well up in her eyes. “I… I know he seemed off the last time I saw him, and he was being weird about saying goodbye and everything, but… but I didn’t want to believe he was actually gone.” She walks closer to them, her arms crossed. “So, where is he?”

Both Greg and Amethyst go very silent as Connie glares at them impatiently. After a moment of awkward silence, Amethyst finally answers. “Steven is… in space. He left Earth with another Gem because she gave him some misinformation that made him think we were lying to him about everything.”

“I… Ugh!” Connie throws her hands in the air and collapses to her knees. “I should have stopped him! I knew there was something wrong! I’d even realized he was talking like he’d never see me again, but I let him run off!” She bursts into tears. “Now he’s in space and I’ve lost my only friend!” Greg and Amethyst share a look and both of them sit down next to Connie to comfort her.

“Hey, come on Connie. We’ll get him back. We will. Not even all of Homeworld’s armies will stop us from rescuing Steven.”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine, Connie. I’m sure Steven will get back to us safe and sound…”

“H-how are you going to get him back from space?” She sniffles.

“By going out there ourselves, of course! Pfft, if Pearl put her mind to it, she could probably make a spaceship that would get us there in no time. So, yeah, we’ll go and get him really soon. And hey, you’re not alone. I’m willing to hang out with you and junk in the meantime.”

“Th-thanks Amethyst. Mr. Universe.” She wipes at her eyes. “I really appreciate the thought. I hope you get him back soon.”

“We will. We will. I promise.” Connie smiles tearfully up at Greg. “But, I’ll just go for now…” Connie walks away and Amethyst falls back on the sand with a groan. “I know Pearl could get us there, but she’s either a sobbing mess, or completely out of it. And Garnet is no help, since Ruby and Sapphire are _constantly_ fighting right now.”

Greg frowns, and pulls Amethyst to her feet. “I… I don’t know what to say. Just, I believe you guys can do this. You guys never give up on anything, and I KNOW you won’t give up on Steven. You guys love him as much as I do.” Amethyst nods. “So, please, just figure something out. I know you can.”

Amethyst nods again, and, with a sad smile, trudges back to the house where Pearl now has Steven’s blanket pulled over her head and Sapphire and Ruby are screaming at eachother in the middle of the room.

She leans her back against the wall and slowly slides to the floor, silently watching her broken team for the next several _days_ from that spot, unmoving as she thinks over everything. There has got to be _something_ that will pull this group back together.

After a long time thinking, Amethyst finally steels herself and rises from her spot against the wall, finally done with all of this bickering and crying. “Alright, LISTEN UP! Because I am only gonna say this once. GET A HOLD OF YOURSELVES! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! RUBY! SAPPHIRE! I DON’T EVEN _**KNOW**_ WHAT YOU’RE FIGHTING ABOUT, BUT IT’S GETTING US **NOWHERE!** So kiss and make up- literally, if necessary! You can’t just blame EACH OTHER for what happened! It can’t be one of your faults without it being the other! You. Are. Both. GARNET! She’s both of you! And whatever mistakes you made as her is on both of you together! And you have to DEAL with them TOGETHER!” She sighs and turns to look up at Pearl, who’s sat up and is looking down tearfully. “And Pearl. You CANNOT. I repeat **CANNOT** just blame yourself entirely for this! You couldn’t have known what would happen! You couldn’t guess that THIS is what Steven would do after you gave him a freaking MAKEUP ACCESSORY as a present! You can’t shoulder the blame for something you couldn’t possibly have controlled! It’s not fair to you! It isn’t fair to us! How do you think I feel!? Do you think I don’t feel horrible for what happened? You think I’m not just constantly KICKING myself over what I could’ve done better? Well guess what? I am! And you MARTYRING yourself is going to do exactly ZERO to bring Steven back!” Amethyst lets a slow breath out. “And if we’re EVER going to get Steven back here we are going to have to WORK TOGETHER, and we can’t do that if you guys are a living TRAINWRECK! So suck it up, put on your big girl pants, and let’s Get. Steven. BACK!”

It’s silent for a moment after Amethyst finishes talking, and Pearl is the first to react. “Y-you’re right, of course.” She climbs down to the main floor, wiping at her eyes. “St-Steven wouldn’t have wanted us to fall apart like this anyway.”

“EXACTLY!” Amethyst whirls back around to Ruby and Sapphire. “Well?”

“You… are correct. The only futures in which we get Steven back to Earth requires our cooperation…” She holds a hand out to Ruby. “I’m sorry I blamed your emotions.”

After a second’s hesitation, Ruby takes the offered hand. “Sorry I said your future vision was useless. And that I called you a robot.”

“See! Was that so hard!? I mean, it’s not like the sky was falling or anything.”

“AAAAH! THE SKY IS FALLING!” Ronaldo’s voice comes in from outside.

The Crystal Gems all share a puzzled look, and run outside looking up.

“Crap. Is that a giant hand in the sky?” Amethyst flatly asks, staring up at it.

“... It’s a ship.” Pearl puts her face in her hands. “It’s a ship!”

“What kinda stupid ship is that? It’s shaped like a hand.”

“Exactly the kind homeworld would build…” Sapphire says slowly. “I saw this as a possibility… but I was too caught up in my argument with Ruby to say anything.” She groans into her hands, and Ruby gently rubs her back to comfort her.

“Ugh!” Amethyst kicks the outside wall of the house. “JUST BRILLIANT!”

“We can’t activate the Laser Light Cannon without Steven…” Pearl murmurs, slowly walking down to the beach, the other gems following her.

“So homeworld is here? And we can’t damage their ship?” Amethyst groans. “Fine! I guess we’ll just have to kick their butts when they get to the ground!”

“No… We can’t beat them…” Pearl murmurs weakly, staring up at the hand shaped craft approaching them. “They’re here because they know it’s just us, and we don’t have Steven’s shield…” She sighs, ducking her head. “We’re doomed.” Her voice cracks, and tears start to well up in her eyes again, when she’s struck with an idea. “Unless…” She looks back up at it, her gaze very calculating as she considers what might be coming at them.

“Unless what P? You got an idea?” Pearl glances down at Amethyst.

“Maybe, but…” She crosses her arms, feeling very defeated. Go with a plan that might not even work and would be miserable to do, or surely be executed on the spot? The choice seems obvious, but even still, Pearl doubts. “…Yes, I do, but you won't li-” The ship lands in front of them and every one of the gems _except_ Pearl summon their weapons. Sapphire glances over at Pearl, noticing the defeated, docile, subservient posture she’s taken on and nods in understanding at the taller gem. Pearl fights back tears as she pulls on every instinct she’s predisposed to, but has been fighting against for a majority of her existence. And it tears her up inside at how _easy_ it is to fall back to a neutral, inactive, subservient state of mind. Tears well up in her eyes, and she fights them back as two gems exit the ship. A tall beefy gem with warpaint-like red stripes on her skin, and a blue and white gem no taller than Ruby or Sapphire.

“Wow. I know Yellow said Rose’s armies were utterly destroyed, but this is just pathetic.” The larger gem laughs, and three of the four Crystal Gems raise their weapons, which just gets Jasper to laugh again. “I mean, three runts and a defective Pearl. Are you _serious_?”

The blue and white gem- Blue Lace Agate! Pearl realizes with a start. She used to serve under Rose back before the rebellion. Blue Lace clears her throat. “Jasper, Ma’am-”

“You’re just a runt too Blue Lace, so don’t go talking out of turn.” Jasper snaps, and Blue Lace flinches.

“That’s not what I was going to comment on, Ma’am. I was just going to say we were sent here to capture them. Not to make fun of them. Ma’am.”

“Ugh. You’re only here because Blue Diamond wanted someone along on this mission and you were conveniently on the right planet.” Jasper growls, and Blue Lace takes a hesitant step back.

“I-I was just thinking that we should get on with the mission, that’s all. A-and capture them.”

Jasper punches the palm of her hand. “Who says we need to capture them? Homeworld has no use for the likes of them. I say we just shatter them.”

“T-THAT IS NOT WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF OUR MISSION!” Blue Lace runs around in front of Jasper. “I-I mean. Our mission is to take them back to homeworld where they will sentenced as the Diamond Council deems appropriate. Now, I can’t speak for Yellow Diamond, but I know Blue Diamond does not like it when a mission is not carried out as was ordered! Ma'am!”

Jasper exhales through her teeth. “Fine. But stay out of my way, if we capture them, we do it MY way.”

Jasper shoves aside the small Blue Lace, and is immediately attacked by Amethyst, but Jasper simply grabs the end of Amethyst’s whip, and swings it, throwing Amethyst up off the ground and then slams her roughly back into the the sand below.

Pearl, barely not wincing by proxy for Amethyst, continues to stand very still while Ruby and Sapphire both charge at Jasper from behind… and are swatted away like flies. She stands perfectly still, forcing her face to stay emotionless as Jasper singlehandedly defeats all of her friends; even when Amethyst goes on fighting beyond all reason and is SCREAMING at Pearl to help. Amethyst is eventually defeated- nearly getting poofed, and really only didn’t because Blue Lace cut into the fight, picking up Amethyst with a tractor beam from some device, muttering something along the lines of _“that’s enough”._

Jasper walks over to the perfectly still Pearl. “You know, I remember you from the war, defect. You were always right by Rose Quartz’ side.”

“Where else would a pearl belong other than at the side of her master?” Pearl says in a near monotone.

“You think that’s going to fool me defect? I know you’re no ordinary pearl.” Jasper snarls, bending over to be on eye level with Pearl.

“I never claimed to be ordinary. Unlike most pearls I do have a measure of intelligence and free will, but I am still nothing without a master. Everything I’ve ever done, I did for her.”

“So you’re blaming all of your treasonous activities on Rose Quartz, eh?” Jasper stands up straight and laughs “Well, I might just believe that. You are _just a pearl_. But your fate is up to the diamonds to decide. Personally I think you should all be shattered for your heinous crimes against the empire.” She laughs again and roughly shoves Pearl onto the ship, Pearl putting up no resistance. Blue Lace sighs, and closes the door of the ship behind her as she walks in, but it closes slowly enough that Connie, who had been waiting patiently throughout the fight, quickly darts from where she was hiding behind a rock and through the almost closed door of the ship, just barely getting in.

Connie ducks out of sight of Blue Lace, who almost saw her when glancing over her shoulder. Creeping around to follow Blue Lace, Connie is doing everything she can to stay hidden. “Just find the gems and free them so they can rescue Steven…” Connie mutters to herself, stopping dead as she hears Blue Lace start to speak.

“I’m sorry. Stopping her from shattering you guys was all I could do.”

“Ugh. Who the hell are you even to speak to us like we’re you’re friends.” Amethyst sound equal parts angry and disgusted.

“You’ll have to forgive Amethyst. She was made in the Kindergarten, so she doesn’t really know anyone from homeworld.” A soft flat voice that Connie doesn’t immediately recognize explains- it must belong to one of the two gems she saw fighting that she didn’t know. “Amethyst, this is Blue Lace Agate. She IS a friend. She served Rose before the rebellion, but couldn’t make it to earth to join the Crystal Gems.”

“I was still stuck in the previous colony… which mind you, I’m still at, but officially I work under Blue Diamond now.

“Hmmph. Wrksundrdimndosnsondlkafrntome…” Amethyst mutters something Connie can’t quite make out.

Neither could Blue Lace, apparently, since she says. “Come again?”

“I said: Works under a diamond? Doesn’t sound like a friend to me!” Amethyst snaps, and the Gem Connie didn’t know from before sighs.

“She saved our lives Amethyst. You could at least be grateful.”

“No, it’s fine.” Blue Lace mutters. “Though you might note that I said _officially_. I never asked to work for her, I was reassigned against my will, and I am a member of the Pink Diamond Allegiance.”

“And _what_ is the Pink Diamond Allegiance?” A second voice Connie doesn’t know- must be the other gem she’s yet to meet- asks, sounding angry but with no actual malice, just curiosity.

“Oh, uh. Well, Fire calls it the new rebellion. It’s an underground organization that formed from many of Pink Diamond’s former workers shortly after the war, and it’s been gaining power recently. Eventually we hope to overthrow the Diamond Council in Pink Diamond’s name.”

Connie peeks around the corner briefly seeing Blue Lace leaning against a wall, and the Crystal Gems behind what looks like yellow forcefields. Amethyst and the small red one are both on their feet looking at Blue Lace, while the small blue gem is sitting and facing her, but the top half of her face is covered by hair, so Connie can’t be sure what she’s actually looking at. Pearl has her back to the force field and is sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest. The blue gem’s head turns her way and Connie ducks back behind the corner.

“…Connie?” The softer unknown voice says after a moment, and Connie peeks around the corner again, all of the gems except Pearl looking at her now.

Connie sheepishly walks over. “Uh, hi. I came to break you guys out.”

“Interesting.” The small blue gem says. “I saw this as a possibility, but it wasn’t likely.”

“You saw Connie following as even the slightest possibility and you didn’t say anything? What the heck Sapphire?” Amethyst crosses her arms, and rolls her eyes.

“It was only a 3% chance that she would actually get onto the ship.”

Blue Lace groans. “ _Great_. Now I have to hide a human from Jasper?”

“I… I was just here to get them and then go.” Connie smiles nervously, and Blue Lace groans.

“You don’t realize… The ship has already taken off, and I can’t exactly land it and open the doors without Jasper noticing!” She sighs. “I’m _sorry_ , but you are stuck here… Connie.”

“Oh. Oh, geeze.” Connie takes off her glasses and buries her face in her hands.

“It… could be useful, if we could get you to Homeworld, actually, though we will have to somehow sneak you through the warp, but I can probably do that. Pearls don’t really ask too many qu-” She cuts herself off, glancing awkwardly at Pearl. “Errr, Sorry.”

“Don’t stop on account of me.” She mutters, barely audible.

“Uuuuhh, okaaaay. Well, yeah, if I sneak you in there at just the right time, there will only be Pearl’s serving as attendants at both locations, so I could get you to Homeworld where you could serve as Pink Diamond’s connection to the underslums, since I imagine he’s being incredibly sheltered.”

“To give you the information Blue Lace is leaving out, Pink Diamond is Steven, though what she just said implies that they are not hurting him, which is good to hear.” The trapped blue Gem says.

“Uh, I was also kind of wondering who you were… uhm, because you seem to know me but I’ve never met you.”

“We’re Garnet.” The red gem says nonchalantly. “I’m Ruby, she’s Sapphire.”

“Garnet is a fusion!?”

“Look, I have to go.” Blue Lace says suddenly. “I can’t hang around here much longer, otherwise Jasper will get suspicious. If you hear anyone coming use this-” She hands the device she used to make a tractor beam earlier to Connie. “To pull yourself to the ceiling- press the button on the side to that- and I would actually do so in one of their cells, since the gem destabilizer field will mask you and the beam holding you up somewhat. You’re human, so you should be able to pass right through it. Now! I have to go! Be safe all of you, for everyone’s sake.” She runs down the hall, vanishing around a corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again: OC. Sorry. Blue Lace showing back up wasn't even actually my idea, but was suggested by my editor, fight scene choreographer, and chief Diamond Crazy-ifier, and story planning helper Captain Infinity, and it works, I just feel bad about the inclusion of an OC at all.


	7. Chapter 6: The Humans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg tries to calm down Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran about the disappearance of their daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a short chapter. Sorry.

### Chapter 6

##### The Humans

Greg sits on the beach, near the Crystal Temple, strumming a sad song on his guitar. He’s trying really hard not to let Steven being gone completely shatter him, but it’s hard, especially with that giant space hand showing up and the gems disappearing after that a few days ago. He has to have faith that the Gems will get back to Earth, and that they’ll bring Steven with them. That faith is the only thing that keeps him going, and, after all, Steven wouldn’t want him to crumble. 

“Universe!” A frantic voice shouts out, and he glances over his shoulder to see Mr. Maheswaran running down the beach towards him. He rises to his feet and meets Mr. Maheswaran halfway. 

“Universe.” He pants, bending over, with his hand on his knees. “Have you seen Connie? She went missing several days ago.”

“Missing? Oh, uh. No, I haven't seen her since she went to the Gem's house looking for Steven. Right before the- Oh. Oh my gosh. Okay, DON'T PANIC." Greg pulls on his hair. “When… when exactly did she vanish? You said several days ago. Please tell me you meant like Yesterday, or the day before that. Not three days ago. Please tell me she didn’t go missing three days ago.”

“Uh, she went missing three days ago… Universe, what is going on? She came here to Beach City to visit your boy, and then she never came home!”

Greg shakes his head. “She might have come here, but she wasn’t here to visit Steven. He… he’s been gone for a little over two weeks now.” Greg sighs, staring at the sand before shaking himself. “She might have come to check in with the gems though, since Amethyst promised her that they were working on getting Steven back.”

“... Your boy is missing too? And what are the gems? What are you talking about Greg?!” Mr. Maheswaran shouts, clearly quite frustrated, and a little bit frantic. 

“Yeah, maybe we should get your wife and talk somewhere private. This is gonna get pretty heavy…” Greg murmurs. 

“What? Why can’t you just explain now!?” He snaps. 

“Because you don’t even know who the gems are, so that’s gonna take a lot of explaining in of itself.” He looks up to the house on the temple. “How about you get your wife and I’ll meet you up there. I think I know where your daughter is…” Greg lets out a slow breath. “See you soon.”

He walks up to the house, and sits down on the couch, waiting for the Maheswarans to get there, trying very hard not to let being surrounded by Steven’s things overwhelm him. It’s about 15 agonizing minutes later that the Maheswarans finally come in.

“-I mean, who puts a house inside a giant statue. I never understood that.”

“I’ll explain the house too, if you want. I helped build it after all, but… but that’s not important right this second.”

“Ah! Greg! My husband told me Steven was missing as well? Do you think they ran off together?” Dr. Maheswaran sits down on the couch next to Greg. She pulls her hair. The woman looks half dead, with bags under her eyes and what appear to be a few new locks of grey hair sprouting along the side of her head. Upon closer inspection, Greg notices the same can be said of her husband. “I mean, this isn’t like Connie. She never so much as misses a curfew, let alone vanishes for three days!” She looks around. “And goodness, this house is strange. Do you live here Greg?”

“Well, no. I don’t think they ran off together, though I do think Connie went after Steven…” He leans forward and groans into his hands. “And no, I don’t live here. Steven and the Gems live here though.”

“Yeah, you mentioned ‘the gems’ before, but didn’t explain. And you don’t live with your son?” Mr. Maheswaran sits down next to his wife. 

“What… What exactly did Connie tell you about Steven’s family?” Greg asks slowly, staring at the Maheswarans. 

“That he had a normal nuclear family and that he was an only child.” Dr. Maheswaran matter of factly states. 

“… only one of those things are true. We are far from a nuclear family.” Greg sighs. “So Connie lied to you. The gems are… well, about as close to family as Rose- Steven’s mother- ever had.”

“Had?… Did your wife pass away Greg?” Mr. Maheswaran frowns. “And it’s not like our Connie to lie, especially about something so trivial.”

“Eeeeeeh… I can see why she might have lied, because this is where is gets weird. Rose… died in a manner of speaking in that she doesn’t physically exist anymore.”

“What are you talking ab-” Greg cuts off Dr. Maheswaran. 

“Let me finish.” He clears his throat. “To make something long and complicated short and simple, the gems are magical aliens, and Steven’s mom was one of them. And Steven lives with them because he needs to learn how to use the magic powers he inherited from his mother.”

“You… You can’t seriously expect us to believe that, can you?” Dr. Maheswaran stares at Greg like he’s insane. “I mean, magical aliens? _Really_?”

“I’m dead serious. They rebelled against their homeworld thousands of years ago to protect the earth and humanity.” He points at the painting. “That’s a painting of Rose. That is seriously what she looked like.”

“Your wife had huge pink hair and a gemstone embedded in her navel?”

“Yes. Yes she did. And now Steven has her gemstone. All of the gems have gemstones on their bodies.”

Dr. Maheswaran sighs. “Other than the fact that she apparently lied to us, what does any of this have to do with Connie?”

Greg sighs. “I… I’ll start by explaining Steven’s disappearance. Another gem turned up. One that was aligned with their homeworld, and she somehow convinced Steven to go there with her. This was all a little over two weeks ago.”

“Wait. You… You said that you think Connie followed him. How could she follow him into SPACE!?”

Greg frowns. “Three days ago a hand-shaped spaceship showed up, and after it left, the gems were gone. Based on the timings I can only assume your daughter was on that ship when it left too.”

“Y-you’re seriously telling us that o-our daughter Connie is in OUTER SPACE right now?” Dr. Maheswaran jumps to her feet. “W-what if she gets hurt!? Is this ‘Homeworld’ a bad place? It must be if your late wife rebelled against it! Connie is going to a bad planet! And there’s NOTHING we can do about it!” She bursts into tears, falling back on the couch.

"Look, I know this may sound crazy. And I KNOW that she's your daughter and you love her. But... She's Steven's friend. And if I know Steven, he'd sooner throw himself into the sun than let anything bad happen to Connie." He pulls on his hair nervously. “Trust me, I know how it feels. Steven is out there with a massive target painted on his back just because of who his mother was, I’m trusting that he is his mother’s son, and that he’ll survive and that he’ll protect Connie. And they’ll get back here. That faith is all I have keeping me going. Connie seems like a very smart and resourceful girl. If she’s with Steven, I’m sure they’ll both be just fine until they get back here.”

“How… how can you be so confident?”

“I’m...I’m confident because I have to be. Steven wouldn’t want me to fall apart, and I know Connie wouldn’t want you to fall apart either. It’s not easy, keeping yourself together with something like this, but it’s all we can do for them right now.”

“How… How long do you think they’ll be gone…?” Mr. Maheswaran asks, his voice hollow.

“I have no idea. They’ll be back soon… hopefully.”

“… Hopefully.”


	8. Chapter 7: Lion and Connie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie meets up with Lion on Homeworld

### Chapter 7

##### Lion and Connie

Connie Maheswaran stares bleakly up at the glowing train track above her head, then down at the dusty grey stone ground under her feet. She needs to get up there, but all she can really think about right now is the fate of the gems below her feet. Though she got through the warp hours after the Crystal Gems, she was still treated to the horrifying sight of them being forced through a passage in the stone that vanished without a trace when it was closed behind them. Amethyst’s screams of defiance still echo in the recesses of Connie’s mind. 

She shakes herself out of her worry and continues slowly walking under the lowest loop of the train paths, which are still way above her head, since no one in the underslums gets to ride the trains, but she has to get up there someway if she ever wants to see Steven.

She shivers, the underslums feeling particularly cold to her with the lack of consistent light, or heat, except what little leaks from above, leaving her chilled in her summer clothes. Supposedly up above is always warm and bright, constantly showered in warm iridescent light, but Connie has yet to see the uppercity except from below, though, according to Blue Lace, Steven is there, being treated like royalty. She shivers again, rubbing her arms and looking up. “I’m coming for you Steveaaaaah!” Connie is suddenly scooped up on to Lion’s back from behind, awkwardly rolling over his head. Taking a moment to register what just happened, Connie gasps and hugs Lion- greatly enjoying the warmth of his fur. 

“Lion! You’re here!?” She laughs breathlessly, still hugging his neck tightly from her position on his back. “I can’t believe it! You’re actually here!” She chuckles again. “I guess Steven found you after all.” She sighs, relaxing into his soft warm mane. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you Lion. Now I’ve just got to get to Steven…” Without any more warning than a twitch of his ears Lion starts running, and opens a portal in front of him that he jumps through, landing him and Connie… less than three feet away from Steven and two gems, one blue and one green.

“Aaaaghta!” The green gem notices them immediately and stumbles backwards, and almost off the edge of the platform they’re on, but Steven grabs her arms, stopping her from falling. 

“Woah there Dot! Don’t fall, it looks like a long way… WAIT A MINUTE!” He whirls around to face Connie and Lion. “CONNIE!?”

“The Lion is back.” The green gem steps carefully away from the edge, glaring at Connie and Lion. “And it has brought what appears to be a _human_ with it.”

“That’s Connie.” Steven grins, running over and pulling Connie off Lion’s back with a hug. “She’s my best friend!” He hugs Connie again, spinning her around with a laugh. “Aaaah! I CAN’T believe it’s actually you! What are you doing here!?”

“This… human… is your… friend? Steven. You are a Diamond. Continued friendship with humans is _far_ below you. I will have to report this.”

The blue gem snickers. “Pfft, as if Peri. They didn’t believe you when you reported Lion, why would they believe you about this?” She throws her arm around the other gem’s shoulders. “So, why even bother?”

“I’m reporting it.” She growls under her breath, sending a wary look towards Lion. “And I still do not like the Lion.” 

Steven chuckles. “Well, Connie, I want you to meet my friends. This is Lapis.” He points to the blue gem, who is currently making silly faces at the disgruntled green gem. “And that’s Peridot. I know she doesn’t seem very nice, but she’s a bit like Pearl once you get to know her.”

Peridot’s face flushes. “EXCUSE ME!? You will not compare me to a lowly pearl! I am natural technician- wait… You meant the Crystal Clod one didn’t you?”

“Crystal Gem, and yes. I did mean that Pearl. I… don’t really know who else you’d think I was talking about. You and Pearl are kinda similar. You both like building things, and you’re really smart, and a little uptight, and you both have your gem on your foreheads…”

She crosses her arms. scowling. “That is even more offensive. I am nothing like any pearl. Pearls are just shiny status symbols, and I am especially not okay with being compared to some traitor.” 

“… Uhm, Okaaaaay?” Steven stares at Peridot for a moment before shaking his head and looking to Connie. “Well! Connie! How did you get here!?” Steven whirls around to face his friend. “I mean, seriously. I got here in my bubble with Lion and Lapis pushing us in space, but you didn’t have that option!”

“I… stowed away on a ship.” Connie chuckles nervously, but Peridot breaks down laughing. 

“Oh! Oh! The look on her smug face when I tell Jasper she had a human stowaway! We’ll see how ‘successful’ she thinks her ‘oh so important’ mission was! Hah! We’ll see, We’ll see.” 

“What important mission? Did Jasper go to Earth? Why’d she go to Earth?”

Peridot’s face falls. “Crap. … Let’s pretend I said nothing about Jasper. Yes? Yes. Let’s pretend.” She chuckles nervously. 

“Peeeeerriiiiiidoooot.” Steven pulls on her arm. “Pleeeeeaaaaase tell me!” 

“I am not permitted to tell you Steven.” She yanks her arm away, and Connie sighs, getting Steven’s attention again.

“I… I can tell you Steven. It was to capture the Crystal Gems.”

“The… Crystal Gems are here on Homeworld now!?” Steven squeaks, and spins around to face Peridot. “Can I see them! I miss them sooooo much!” He winces. “N-not that I don’t like it here on Homeworld- it’s amazing and you two are GREAT as my new family, but they were my family first, and I miss them!”

Peridot sighs, staring at the ground for a moment before responding. “No. You can’t. They are traitors and are currently awaiting trial. And I am not permitted to speak on this subject, so can we please go back to your… what did you call it again? A… Picnic? I found the nicest spot in the capital that had no buildings, just as you requested, and you have yet to do anything with that basket you brought.”

At the mention of this being the nicest spot without buildings, Connie actually looks around the floating rock platform they’re on. It’s covered in some soft pink thing that looks a little bit like wild grass, but probably isn’t, and has little tiny crystalline flower-like things dotted all over it that glitter in the light. It is quite pretty, and is hundreds of times nicer than any of the dull bare rock formations that she’s seen in the undercity. 

“Woah. Is all of upper city this pretty?” Connie falls to her knees on the not-quite-grass. “And can I join in this picnic? I’m _starving_. Indicolite hasn’t been able to get me much in the way of food.” 

Steven and Peridot react simultaneously to the mention of the name Indicolite. Steven, who had just sat next to Connie with his picnic basket goes very stiff, and Peridot points her arm at Connie, some sort of plasma blast charging on her fingers. “Say that name again and you die human.” Peridot hisses, and Connie flinches back. 

Steven, who had opened his mouth to say something, slowly closes it, looking at Peridot warily. He chuckles nervously, and opens his picnic basket. “So, uh, well I have lots of goodies here. Uh, they managed to replicate Cookie Cats for me, which is really cool. Uh, like 12 different sandwiches, and uhm. Some bottles of water. Uh, some donuts, but I already ate one on the ride here… Uhhhhh, oh! And a bag of chaaaaaps. Or, really, a copy of a bag of chaaaaaps. It was made on homeworld. Like my Cookie Cats. Uh. Take whatever you want Connie. Lapis. I know you won’t eat, Peridot, but… It’s fun. Picnics are fun…” He trails off, giving Connie a weird look. Though she’s concerned about Steven, she’s also very hungry, so she digs in. 

“You know… Connie. It’s… probably not very safe for a human to be here…”

She looks up at Steven. “Huh? I’ve been making do the past several days, and now I can stick with Lion, so… I’ll probably be fine.”

“But I was reading about this yesterday!” Steven clasps his hands together and stares at the ground. “Outside the cities, corrupted gems, and dangerous non-sentient gem creatures roam freely, and it’s really, really dangerous, and you can’t regenerate Connie, so it would be even more dangerous for you. I just… I’m just worried.” 

She sits her sandwich down. “What’s a corrupted gem, exactly?”

“… Well, uhm. It’s a gem that’s lost their mind completely and has twisted into the form of a monster… Like the ones the Crystal Gems fought on Earth.”

Peridot looks up from her screen over at Steven and Connie. “There is an infestation of corrupted gems on Earth? I had just assumed a majority of the ones remaining there were shattered, though I suppose I would lose my mind too if I was trapped there…” She shrugs. “I still do not understand the point of this, how do you say, ‘picnic’.”

“It’s just having fun with a meal and friends Peridot.” Steven clicks his tongue, shaking his head at Peridot. “Honestly Peridot, for someone so smart you can be a bit clueless at times.” Steven chuckles. “Coooomeon! Dot! Try a Cookie Cat! It’s frozen and delicious!” He holds one of the cat shaped ice cream sandwiches out to her, but she pushes it away. 

“As I have already informed you Steven. I find _eating_ to be unpleasant.”

Lapis snatches the Cookie Cat from Steven’s hand. “Eh, your loss. I think it’s fun!” She takes a bite out of the feline confectionary, while smiling smugly at the technician Gem.

Connie chuckles nervously. “So, uh, uhm, you sure are living the high life here Steven. What’s up with that?”

Steven pulls up on his shirt, looking at the vibrant pink gem in his navel. “Oh, yeah. It was really surprising to me too! Apparently this is a Diamond and _not_ Rose Quartz? Crazy, huh?”

Connie shrugs. “I always thought the colour was off for it to be Rose Quartz. I mean, rose quartz is _MUCH_ lighter than that usually, but before I just sort of shrugged it off as magic.” She pauses, thinking. “Though, actually, yeah it being Pink Diamond makes A LOT more sense.” She takes another bite of her sandwich thinking. “So, what, you get here and they start treating you like royalty?”

“Uh, yeah, pretty much. There was some weirdness with this gem calling me _number 1_ back at the colony and I think White Diamond almost killed me before I said I wasn’t my mom, but after that everything was dandy. They have this huge thing planned soon where we all go to the fountain of the diamonds- which is SO cool and you HAVE to see it at some point- and do some sort of ceremony-thingy where they officially welcome me into the Council of the Diamonds. I mean, White Diamond says that I have a lot of growing up and learning to do before I can actually help rule, but apparently it’s more for appearances sake or something.”

“That sounds… cool, Steven.” She frowns, wondering if he even knows what’s really going on. He seems to miss the Crystal Gems, and to have recognized the name Indicolite, but seems cheerful enough talking about White Diamond, and down right friendly with the painfully obvious loyalist Peridot. Of course, he _is_ Steven, he’s friendly with everyone. “Maybe I’ll hide among the crowd to watch. I had heard a few mentions of something like that already, so…” She smiles nervously. “If I can.”

“Oooo! You’ve gotta try Connie! It looked so pretty when just I was there! I can only imagine how much it would glitter and glow and stuff with all the Diamonds there!”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure it will be quite the spectacle. I’ll try to make it there. I will. If I can.”

“Great!” Steven chirps. “Just don’t get into any trouble for it. They don’t really seem so bad here, but I don’t really think they like humans. So… since you’re here, PLEASE be _really_ careful Connie! I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“I will. I’ll be _SUPER_ careful Steven. Don’t worry!” She sighs, thinking that she might grasp just how dangerous it is for her here better than he does. 

“AAAAARGH!” Peridot jumps to her feet suddenly, kicking at the crystalline flowers. “WHY WON’T THEY BELIEVE ME!?” Her screen vanishes and she throws her arms out, while her fingers run through her hair on their own. “THEY ASSIGN ME AWAY FROM THE JOB I WAS _MADE_ TO DO, TO WATCH OVER PINK DIAMOND AND KEEP HIM _OUT_ OF TROUBLE THEN PROCEED TO NOT BELIEVE ME WHEN I **REPORT TROUBLE**! ARRRRGH!”

“Now now, didn’t we discuss your temper last time they ignored you Peri?” Lapis laughs. “To be fair to Yellow Diamond, a teleporting pink lion is pretty implausible, as is the idea of a human getting all they way here.”

“OH SHUT UP LAZULI!” 

Lapis snickers, sticking her tongue out at Peridot. “Make me Peridork!” She makes a fart noise into her hand, and Peridot sputters. 

“You insulant little-”

“Stop fighting you two!” Steven jumps to his feet, running between them. “Last time you did this you both started flying after each other and I was STUCK at the crafters for a whole hour before you came down again! Plus fighting is bad! So stop it!”

Connie snickers, trying to imagine what kind of argument could lead to the two gems taking to the skies, but is unable to come up with anything not ridiculous. 

“And to change the subject… Uh, Peridot, I’ve been wondering since we got here, where exactly are we?”

Peridot blinks slowly at Steven and sighs, pulling up her screen. “This little patch of land is called… Pink Meadow.”

“No, no, no. You misunderstood me. I meant since me and Lapis got to the planet I’ve been wondering where we are.” 

Peridot stares at him through slitted eyes for a solid minute, before answering slowly. "...Homeworld."

Steven sighs. "Yes, yes, of course, but what is it?"

Peridot blinks, raising her arms in a questioning manner. "Homeworld!"

"I know!” Steven sighs exasperatedly. “I'm asking you what homeworld is!"

Peridot growls and stomps her foot. "HOMEWORLD!"

Steven grabs his head, sending a ‘can you believe this’ look at Connie, before snapping at Peridot. "WHAT IS THE PLANET CALLED!?"

"IT IS CALLED HOMEWORLD YOU STEVEN!" Peridot shouts.

Steven is silent for a minute or so, before he breaks down laughing, Connie joining in because all that was pretty ridiculous. "Well, that's dumb." Steven chokes out through his laughter.

"YOU'RE DUMB!!!" Peridot snaps, storming off to the lone train car parked at the edge of the meadow.

“Have fun sulking!” Lapis calls after her with a giggle. “I know you disapprove Steven, but you have to admit it’s fun to get her worked up.”

“It’s a little funny, yeah, but it’s not nice. She has feelings too, you know.” Steven pauses, munching on a Cookie Cat. “And I wasn’t trying to get her worked up. I was genuinely curious. And Homeworld is totally a dumb name for a planet.” He licks a bit of extra ice cream off his fingers. “Though I am actually glad that the Diamonds don’t believe her. I don’t want her to get in trouble, but it’s for the best if they don’t know about Lion and now you Connie.”

Connie rubs the back of her head sheepishly. “Sorry if I’m causing you any extra trouble.”

“It’s not me you’re causing trouble for, it’s Peridot. I’m just happy to see you! I missed you an awful lot!” He bites his lip, looking down at the ground pensively. “I wish I could see the Crystal Gems too. Do you think if I asked SUPER nicely they would be merciful?”

Lapis interrupts. “Uh, Steven, remember, you’re not even supposed to know they’re here. I think maybe they were worried you’re previous relationship with them would cloud your judgement, and I honestly think it is. Remember what kind of people the Crystal Gems are Steven. They’re traitors. They’ve shattered their own kind for no good reason.”

Connie closes her eyes slowly. So, Lapis Lazuli is a homeworld loyalist then. That’s too bad, she seems pretty nice.

“I-I…” Steven covers his face and sniffles. “I know, I just…” 

Connie hugs Steven. “Trust your instincts Steven.” She whispers in his ear. “Please, for me. Trust your instincts over whatever these gems are telling you.”

She pulls back, and Steven nods, wiping at his eyes. “Right.”

“WOULD YOU CLODS HURRY UP! WE DO HAVE A SCHEDULE TO ADHERE TO AND THE TIME FOR ‘PICNICS’ IS OVER!” Peridot shouts from the train car.

“I guess we have to go Connie. Be careful! And stick with Lion.” He hugs her swiftly goodbye and runs onto the train car. 

Lapis following him after a cheery wave goodbye to Connie. The doors the the train car close and in the blink of an eye, the car is gone. Connie leans back into Lion. “Oh geeze, there is SO much I need to tell him but can’t because those two gems are there. What am I going to do Lion? I can’t just leave him totally uninformed, can I?”

Lion yawns and lays down causing Connie to fall from her spot against him. “Ugh. That was so NOT necessary.” She climbs on his back. “I guess back to the underslums with us?” After a moment, Lion gets back to his feet and mere seconds later Lion and Connie are exiting a portal back into the shadowy underslums, seeming even darker than before after seeing what it was like above in the floating grand capital. 

Stroking Lion’s mane gently, Connie exhales slowly. “I’m going to save Steven… and this world, or die trying. And dying is a last resort. I have every intention of going home at the end of this.” She takes a deep breath, steeling herself. “Now, I think I need to have a _long_ conversation with Indicolite.”


	9. Chapter 8: Imprisoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Gems are prisoners deep beneath the city.

### Chapter 8

#### Imprisoned

It was despairingly dark, deep down in the dungeons of the Royal Gem City, far below even the lowest parts of the underslums. The only source of light this deep underground is the very gem destabilization fields holding the Crystal Gems at bay, casting a dim white light on the cell’s unwilling inhabitants. Pearl sits on the ground, her knees pulled up to her chest, staring blankly at the floor, just awaiting the time when judgement will come for them.

The rough hewn stone wall she’s leaning on shakes again, as Amethyst punches it again, with just as much indignation and fury as the last 80 times she’d done so. “Ugh! We have to find some way out of here!” She cries, and the wall shakes again. Pearl just ducks her head and says nothing. 

“Amethyst, attacking the wall will do you no good, it’s not going to break.” Sapphire says quietly from a little ways down the hall. 

“WELL IT MIGHT SNAP PEARL OUT OF WHATEVER THIS STUPID NONSENSE IS, SO SHE CAN USE THAT BIG BRAIN OF HERS TO GET US OUT!”

“No, Pearl has no way of getting us all out. You might as well just leave her be.”

“Well what about you Miss Future Vision!? DO YOU HAVE A WAY TO GET US OUT!?”

“Don’t you think that if I knew of a way to escape I would have mentioned and acted upon it by now?” 

“Well maybe you and Pearl should put your massive noggins together. I’m sure if, you know-” She hits the wall very hard again, and Pearl flinches, scooting away from it slightly. “-IF PEARL WOULD DO _ANYTHING_ , you could figure a way out together!”

“No, not likely Amethyst. Just leave Pearl be.” 

“AAAAAARGH! WHY ARE YOU DEFENDING HER!? RUBY! BACK ME UP! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!”

“Ehh.” Ruby’s voices comes from Pearl’s other side. “Yeah, it is. I just didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to fight with Sapphire again.”

“It’s perfectly rational Ruby.” 

“Uh, not from what I can see- NOT saying that you’re not rational!- but Pearl totally flaked out on us! We might have stood a chance had she actually fought!” 

Tears start streaking down Pearl’s face, but she stays utterly silent, ever aware that homeworld gems are probably listening to every word said, and utterly convincing them that she’s nothing more than a pretty servant who was taught to fight by her owner is the only chance she has of surviving. Beyond that she can only hope the other’s executions are stalled long enough that she can break them out once she has Steven, and they can all escape back to earth together. 

“No, no. That’s unlikely. Jasper is an elite warrior under Yellow Diamond. She’s Amethyst if Amethyst was larger and better trained.”

“HEY!” Amethyst shouts. “I AM AWESOME!”

“… I never said you weren’t Amethyst. It’s just Jasper likely went to Facet for training to hone her preexisting combat skills and you are just using preexisting combat skills.”

“WHAT THE HECK IS A FACET!?”

“Eeeeh, it’s a school, if I remember correctly.” Ruby answers. “It’s used to… Geeze, this was so long ago, I don’t even remember exactly!” There’s a quiet thump on the wall between Pearl and Ruby. 

Sapphire sighs. “It’s a school that primarily exists to teach gems to be better at the function they were made for.”

Ruby groans. “Yeah. _That_. Ugh, how would we even know if it still exists?”

“It does. They intend to enroll Steven in the future.”

Ruby groans and that wall shakes like she punched it as Amethyst was doing before, and a slight squeak escapes from Pearl as she falls over in shock. 

“Hey! She made a _noise_! That’s an awful lot more than she’s done this whole time!” Amethyst’s shared wall shakes again, and Pearl shrinks away from it, barely holding back sobs, wishing Amethyst would just _stop_. “P! SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING!”

She wipes at her eyes and takes a deep breath, focusing very hard on making sure her voice doesn’t show her tears. “Mind your place, Amethyst.” Despite trying to hide her sadness her voice still sounds very broken, but that’s better than outright showing she’s crying, and maybe just maybe it will get Amethyst to leave her alone. 

Amethyst screams and there’s an audible thump. “COME ON P!” She breaks down in tears. “Pearl. You’re never going to save Steven like this. And it’s not doing us any good either! Please. Please Pearl. PLEASE. Stop acting like this! This isn’t you!” She bangs on the wall, and Pearl buries her face in her hands. 

“Leave her alone Amethyst!” Sapphire shouts, before taking a deep breath and returning to her normal tone. “Screaming at her will do nothing.”

“What am I supposed to do then!?” Amethyst sobs. “What am I supposed to do…” 

“Leave her alone.” Sapphire pauses. “She’s been completely separated from her master.”

“What are you TALKING ABOUT SAPPHIRE!?” Amethyst screams. 

Sapphire makes a pained noise. “Remember, when Steven was taken off the planet, she completely shut down. She was catatonic, and she only barely did so much as get up when you were being very forceful.”

“… What are you saying Sapphire!” There’s a zapping sound and cry of pain from the adjacent cell that clearly indicates that Amethyst tried to hit the destabilizer field, to obvious results. 

“I believe that since she's been separated from her master that she’s reverted back to her base servant mode, which Rose had basically ordered her out of before. She’s not doing anything because she _can’t_ do anything.”

The strangled noise Amethyst makes almost sends Pearl back into tears, but she just holds them back, her hand over her mouth in horror as Amethyst completely breaks down in the cell next to her. She appreciates Sapphire’s lying for the Homeworld Gems listening, but Amethyst sounds so utterly broken that it’s painful to even listen to. 

“So she’s nothing more than a _servant_ right now!? That’s not right! THAT’S NOT FAIR!” She bangs on the wall. “COME ON PEARL! YOU CAN BEAT THIS! THEY DON’T OWN YOU!”

“Yes. Yes they do.” She mutters flatly, which just got another scream from Amethyst. 

“P! STOP THIS!” She cries, “Just, stop. Please. Don’t give up. I know you can beat this. Yeah, you’re a pearl, but you’re _our_ Pearl. You’re a Crystal Gem, and you’re better than this!”

“Amethyst, nothing you say can change it. She’ll probably only speak when you get really forceful because then it would register as an order, even if you’re not much higher class than she is.”

“No! I can’t be ordering Pearl around! Th-that’s not how it works! You and Ruby were the boss anyhow!” There’s a slight thump on the wall again. “PEARL! PLEASE TELL ME I’M NOT ORDERING YOU AROUND AT ALL!”

Pearl takes a deep breath, steeling herself. “That would be a lie.” She wipes at the silent tears on her face as she tries to block out Amethyst’s squeak that morphs quickly into loud sobs _and_ Ruby’s roar of frustration and the shaking of her side of the wall. 

It’s silent for several hours afterwards, aside from Amethyst’s quiet sobbing and Ruby’s muttering under her breath, until loud footsteps approach from down the hall. They stop just out of sight of Pearl, and it’s a moment before anything is said.

“Oh, look, the overcooked runt is _crying_. She’s a crybaby.” Jasper’s voice is unmistakable. 

Amethyst snarls, and there’s another zap and cry of pain from touching the field. “I’d poof you so hard if I could get out of this STUPID cell!” Amethyst growls, and Jasper laughs. “Pfft, as if you could, runt.” She chuckles. “I’m just here to tell you each of you has had you trials scheduled, though the outcome of each of them is probably obvious.” She laughs again, clearly finding some sick humor in their impending deaths. “The overcooked runt’s trial is in a month, the weirdo fusion runts first trial is around the same time, then the red one’s second is in like 3, and the blue one 4.” 

“Why do we get two trials?” Ruby snaps. 

“Because you fused illegally. Often. That’s a separate crime from being a traitor.” Jasper sneers. “You really didn’t think there wouldn’t be any consequences for your actions, did you? Fusion is an esteemed art only to be used by nobles and in times of war. Not some plaything for low class pebbles to use to artificially enhance their strength.”

“And what about Pearl’s trial?” Amethyst snarls. Pearl forces her face to stay perfectly blank as Jasper steps in front of her cell and stares down at her. 

“Eh. It was decided that it wasn’t worth wasting time holding a trial for a Pearl and the Diamond council has already decided her fate. 

Both walls on either side of Pearl are hit _hard_ at the same time- it takes everything in Pearl not to react- as Ruby and Amethyst simultaneously shout _**“WHAT!?**_ ” 

“She’s nothing but a malfunctioning servant. Why would they waste time on a trial? After all nobody cares about what happens to some defective accessory anyways.” Jasper shrugs, and Pearl fights to stop tears from spilling over. 

“WHAT! ARE! THEY! DOING! TO! HER!” Amethyst screams, punctuating each word with a punch on the shared wall. 

Jasper laughs. “Probably harvesting her to make a _functional_ pearl. Only thing I could think of to do with her. Though, I doubt anything of use could possibly be scrounged off _this_ pathetic excuse for a Gem.”

Pearl’s will falters and tears start silently flowing down her cheeks, which just gets Jasper cracking up. “Hah! The _pearl_ is crying. Awww, does she not want to die?” She snickers. “It’s amazing that a defect such as yourself survived as long as you did, but Pink Diamond was weak, so she spared you. The rest of the council is NOT so merciful. So you might as well say goodbye to your life defect, if you can even call it a life.” Jasper walks out, and a few minutes later, Amethyst speaks up.

“P?” She murmurs, very softly. “P, I know you can’t say anything right now, but you have to realize, she doesn’t actually know what they decided. You might not be dying. Please don’t give up hope.”

From Pearl’s other side Ruby roars and slams against the wall. “THAT’S NOT RIGHT! IT’S NOT RIGHT! THEY CAN’T JUST HARVEST YOU! THEY CAN’T!” 

Pearl covers her mouth, desperately holding back a sob, overwhelmed by her friends compassion towards her.

Sapphire’s quiet sigh almost couldn’t be heard over Ruby’s screaming. 

“Good Luck.” Sapphire murmurs, almost sounding happy, and Pearl can’t help the little gasp that escapes her. Did… did the ploy work? Is she _not_ being harvested? Pearl leans back, smiling slightly, wiping at her tears. There’s no way to be certain until it actually happens, but she might just survive this after all. 

“P. I… I won’t let them harvest you!”

“That’s nothing we can do about it Amethyst! We’re just as doomed, we just have more time!” Ruby sobs, slamming again on the wall. “I want to do SOMETHING! ANYTHING! BUT WE’RE DOOMED! N-Nothing can save us! Not Steven, not each other, NOTHING!” There’s a small noise as Ruby descends into sobs, and Amethyst sighs. 

“We really are screwed, aren’t we?” Amethyst mutters darkly. “This isn’t how it was supposed to be! I WASN’T EVER SUPPOSED TO EVEN SEE THIS STUPID PLACE! I HATE THIS PLANET!” She screams at no one in particular. “I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!” She breaks down into sobs like Ruby, and Pearl frowns, her gaze downcast. Is their entire survival really dependent on her plan that she’s not even sure will _work_? Should she have fought back on Earth? Blue Lace was there too. They might have stood a chance against Jasper, especially if Ruby and Sapphire had a even just a moment to refuse. She might have gotten them into this mess, and now it’s all on her shoulders to get them out, and she’s not even sure whether or not she’s going to survive past this cell yet. 

A new wave of tears crashes over Pearl, and one little sob escapes her before she manages to shut it all inside, but it got both Amethyst’s and Ruby’s attention, with the simultaneous little gasps from either side of her. 

“Pearl?” Amethyst can be heard shifting in the next cell over, and her voice is still very tearful. “P, are you okay? I know this is really tough, I know. And, ugh, why did I even ask you a question? I know you can’t answer it.” And again, she punches the wall. “This is all a stupid mess, and maybe if we had been better prepared we wouldn’t be here. But we are, and it sucks…” She sighs. “And I get the feeling you’re blaming yourself for all this again, so, I know I said it before, and I’ll say it again- even though I said I wouldn’t repeat myself- Don’t martyr yourself! Blaming yourself for all this will do NOTHING to fix anything. All it will do is make you feel even crappier in what may be your last days, so _please_ Pearl. Don’t do this to yourself. It sucks bad enough, don’t make it worse.”

“Yeah! Everything that Amethyst just said!” Ruby shouts at the end, which gets a brief chuckle from Sapphire.

Pearl smiles, wishing she could thank Amethyst, gently placing her hand on the wall they share, tears still streaking down her face, but her spirits lifted somewhat. Her fingers traces down the rough hewn stone slowly, imagining Amethyst just on the other side, and it’s a little easier to swallow, since at least they were all put in cells right by each other. She glances over at the other wall, quite clearly being able to imagine Ruby sulking in the corner of her cell, and she smiles. At least they don’t have to spend what may be their last days in solitude, even if Pearl has to spend them in silence. Even just thinking about her friends being there around her, caring about her even in a situation like this, lifts her spirits some.

Maybe, just maybe, she can do this. Maybe she can survive. Maybe she can get to Steven. Maybe she can get all of them back to Earth. Sapphire seems to think it’s possible, so she can hope. All she could ever do is hope.


	10. Chapter 9: Frenemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Lapis get on Peridot's nerves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... have been told to post chapters more often, so... here you go!

### Chapter 9

#### Frenemies

“So, Dot!” Steven runs up to Peridot, still in his pajamas. “What are we doing today?”

She looks down at him from her screen. “Get dressed and then I will tell you. What did we discuss about the impropriety of leaving your chamber in your night clothing?” 

Steven smiles at sits down at the table. “Oh come on Dot, tell me what’s going on. Where are we going?”

“Do you listen to a single word I say?” She dismisses her screen, her fingers returning to a hand like formation.

“I think it’s silly that you want me to get dressed to eat breakfast.” He pauses, resting his head on his hand. “Besides, they took all my clothes.”

“Covering your gem as you were previously is shameful Steven.” Peridot rolls her eyes. “We did not go to the crafter just for you to have baskets and ‘ice cream sandwiches’ made. We went there to get you new clothing, clothing more suited to you, since you are apparently incapable of summoning any yourself.”

“Buuut I don’t like them! They’re weird!” He huffs, putting his head on the table. “Do I _have_ to show my gem? I mean, shirts with a hole in them are _weird_!” He sits back up. "I mean, they look alright, I guess, but it _feels_ weird."

“… Yes. You must wear them. It is only proper. Now GO. GET. DRESSED!” Now Steven was about to listen to Peridot, and was even standing to go back to his room, when Lapis, who had just walked to the room, laughs at the spectacle and shape shifts her dress into blue pajamas matching Steven’s. 

“Screw getting dressed! LET’S HAVE A PAJAMA DAY!” She picks Steven up and spins him around, giggling. 

“PAJAMA DAY!” Steven shouts in agreement after Lapis sits him back down. 

Peridot starts to chuckle for a moment, before her eyes go wide and she jumps to her feet. “No! No! NO! NOOOOO! Your public induction is today! You CANNOT go out like this! No! No way! That is just not going to happen!” She lifts Steven in a tractor beam from her arm and throws him back into his room. “GET DRESSED.” 

Steven snickers and starts pulling on his new clothes, listening vaguely to Peridot yelling at Lapis. His pants are dark pink and comfortable, but he’d really rather just have his jeans. His shirts… are admittedly really soft and look nice in white with pink accents, but it just feels weird to put on a shirt with a diamond shaped hole over his belly button. Well, at least he got to keep his sandals. He puts the ensemble on and leaves his room again, snickering slightly at the still pajama-clad Lapis flying in circles around a very annoyed looking Peridot.

“Okay, I’m dressed. I feel silly, but I’m dressed.” Steven shrugs.

Peridot turns to look, and genuinely grins, a rarity with her. “Ah! Finally! You actually look like a Diamond!” 

Lapis lands. “No pajama day after all? Oh, what a shame.” Her clothes revert back to her normal shirt and skirt with a flash. “I thought it would be fun.”

“Yeah, so did I, but Dot didn’t want us too.” He pulls on his shirt. “It looks okay, right? I feel like it’s weird.”

“Eh, looks fine to me.” Lapis shrugs.

Steven shrugs again and turns to Peridot. “So! _Now_ will you tell me what we’re doing today?”

Peridot sighs. “Yes, of course. Our first business of that day is actually a preliminary meeting with the Diamonds as to what you are supposed to do at the ceremony later. Then you have approximately two hours of leisure time in which to do what you please before set up for the ceremony begins, which will take roughly an hour- I imagine they’ll want to do something with your hair. From the pictures I’ve seen your mother's curls were much neater looking. Then the ceremony itself which will take approximately fifte-”

“Steven! Catch!” Lapis throws a small greenish sphere at Steven, and he catches it laughing.

“Woah! What is this!?” He turns it over in his hand. “It looks like a giant marble!” 

Peridot makes a frustrated noise behind him, and Steven looks over his shoulder. “Oh, sorry, you can keep going, I’m listening.”

“Wah- Hey! Give me that! It’s my robinoid!” Steven glances at the sphere in his hands. “Go long!” He tosses hard across the room, and Lapis dives to catch it.

“GIVE ME THAT!” Peridot chases it across the room. “That is a very delicate model and I have yet to get it working! You might damage it irreparably!”

Lapis giggles and jumping into the air, spikes it towards Steven shouting “Keep away from Peridork!”

Peridot makes another frustrated noise, her fingers clenching into their best approximation of fists, as she marches toward Steven. “Stop it this instant! You will break it!” 

With a laugh Steven moves like he’s going to throw it over Peridot’s head, and switches to rolling it across the floor to Lapis at the last second. 

Peridot whirls around, almost falling over, towards Lapis, who’s rolling the robinoid in her hands, smirking. “Why don’t you come get it then Peri?”

“I WILL!” She runs headlong towards Lapis, who flies up at the last moment and tosses the orb to Steven, causing Peridot to run into the wall, a hearty ‘CLANG’ echoing throughout the room. 

Lapis lands, her water wings vanishing, grinning at Peridot, who just scowls at her. “I. Want. My. ROBINOID!”

Steven grins, his tongue poking through his teeth. “Well it’s over here now Dot.” He holds it up, and she runs towards him. Right before she would get to him, Steven summons his bubble, and Peridot runs into it and accidentally rolls over it, landing behind Steven, just missing grabbing the robinoid as he drops his bubble and throws it to Lapis, and accidently grabs Steven, pulling him to the floor. 

“Woah!” Steven starts laughing as he sits up so he’s not on top of Peridot. “Surprise hug attack from behind!”

“It wasn’t a… what you say ‘hug’.” Peridot grumbles, getting to her feet. “I was attempting to grab my robinoid.”

Lapis smiles smugly, tossing the robinoid back and forth in her hands. “Wow, Peri. You _really_ want your ball-thing, don’t you?”

“Give it to me. It is not a toy.” She hisses, stomping towards Lapis, her hand outstretched. 

Lapis looks at it, and smiles. “Okay, maybe we should stop mes- JUST KIDDING!” She pulls her hand back, chucking the orb right past Peridot’s head and into Steven’s hands. 

Peridot stomps her foot, her whining sound almost drowned out by the metallic clang. “Steeeevan. We have to meet the the other Diamonds in TEN MINUTES. We do not have time for frivolities like this if you want to EAT before we go!” Her fingers pull her hair on their own, and she crosses her arms, almost looking like she’s pouting.

“No! Don’t take away breakfast! I’m sorry Lapis, but this half human has to eat!” He holds the robinoid out to Peridot, and she snatches it, grumbling under her breath as she returns it to the shelf it belongs on.

“Okay, since you’ve already wasted most of your breakfast time it is either the breakfast sandwich or the dough-nuts which inexplicably don’t all have nuts.”

“I’ll go with the sandwich. I’m in a breakfast sandwich mood.” Steven grins, and Peridot types something on her finger screen like she does every morning and his food rises out of a panel in the table. 

“Eat fast. We have to leave the moment you finish.”

Steven nods, taking that as a challenge, and eats the entire sandwich in just a few bites.

“That… Was much faster than was actually necessary, but no matter. We will leave now. The train car should have arrived.”

Peridot marches outside, and, with a downright mischievous glance shared between the two of them, Steven and Lapis follow.

“So the Diamond Palace, that’s the really high up castle right. The one that’s like, floating above everything else?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, of course. The grand height is supposed to represent their even grander status. They live higher than anyone in the city. Eventually you’ll live there Steven, and… I’ll go back to living down on the third level because by then you will no longer need an escort.”

“Don’t we currently live in the 10th level?” Lapis leans back on the bench, throwing her feet into Peridot’s lap, which she’s done enough times now that Peridot just huffs at it before answering. “Yes, we currently live on the tenth level, where we will continue to stay until both you and Steven are accustomed enough to the modern Homeworld that you could feasibly not have an escort, and past that point you will be assigned quarters appropriate to your status-”

“I used to live on the 9th level.” Lapis cuts across her. “Would I be sent back there, or would they change my rank?”

“N-ninth!? What in Diamond’s name did you do to get to live on the 9th level!”

“Hmm? Oh, well I was a water transport specialist and Blue Diamond’s ‘eyes and ears’ in Kindergarten setup process.”

“But… I serve a similar purpose for Yellow Diamond in Blue Diamond’s labs, and my normal quarters are on the 3rd level. 9th level… is generally only very powerful, or very influential gems. There are only two levels above it. 10, and the Diamonds themselves!”

“… I am pretty powerful, Peridot. You don’t seem to understand. I move water… on a planetary scale. And you…” Lapis slowly exhales. “Are a technician. If it’s anything like it used to be, you’re only higher than one because of the ‘eyes and ears’ thing.”

“I… used to live on two, but was promoted and moved up to three.”

Lapis shrugs. “I guess technicians are a little more valued in this new modern Homeworld, what with all its crazy trains and all sorts of other technologies I don’t understand.”

Steven frowns, not really knowing what any of this level stuff means. “You know, I asked for a reason. The train can go right up to it, right?”

“Yes, there is a single track that runs all the way to the Palace. I imagine we are on it by now.” Peridot crosses her arms. “Why?”

“It’s really steep, right? The track, that is.” 

“Yeeeeeees.” Peridot stares, very perturbed at Steven. 

“Okay. I know how I want to spend my leisure time then.”

Lapis loses it, breaking down laughing and rolling right off the bench, while Peridot just looks more bemused and concerned. “I have no idea what it is that you are thinking Steven, but it is probably a terrible idea.”

“It’s a great idea!” Steven declares, jumping to his feet, just as the doors open. “Huh? Oh!” He snickers. “Was that good timing or what?” He darts off the train, and back into the Hall of the Diamonds he saw his very first day here, but now the room’s symmetry is restored, the walls that once blocked off a quarter of it gone, showing the pink section of it, and the symbol in the middle of the room has been replaced with the old Diamond Council Symbol. He grins. “Guys! Look how much better this room looks now!”

Peridot adjusts her visor absentmindedly, staring out over it with wide eyes. “Woah. It… feels so… large now. It always felt strange due to the asymmetry…” 

Lapis scoffs. “Well, duh. That’s because they just walled off a whole quarter of their grand hall.”

Peridot blinks. “Well, yes, of course! I was just pointing out why it is much more pleasing to the eyes now!” She huffs, crossing her arms. “We’re supposed to go to the center of the room and wait for White Diamond to escort us up to the meeting chamber as Steven has yet to learn how to activate it. 

“Is it anything like a warp pad? Because I know how to work a one of those.” Steven asks as they walk to the center of the room.

Peridot glares at him. “I _highly_ doubt that the entrance to the private meeting chamber of the Diamond council functions anything like a common warp pad.” 

“Well, it’s not that different, really. You activate it in much the same way.” Peridot jumps, and spins around bowing immediately to White Diamond, which Lapis does as well a moment later. Steven waves cheerfully. 

“So it does work like a warp pad?”

White Diamond smiles down at Steven. “Not exactly, though it’s based on the same technologies.” She points up at the ceiling, which also has colours split into quarters to match the walls and floors, and a matching circle to exactly where they’re standing. “This, when activated pushes us up, and through that, into the meeting chamber. Only a Diamond can activate it.”

“And…” Steven glances at the circle. “You activate it like a warp pad?” 

White Diamond laughs. “More or less.”

Steven blinks. “Can I try to do it?”

She twists one of the locks of hair by her face and laughs. “Sure, why not.”

Steven grins and activates it just like one would a warp and it lifts them up and through the ceiling just like White Diamond said it would. “Cool!” Steven beams, looking around the room. It’s a smaller room, circular with a dome ceiling. It is, like so many other things here, spilt into the four colours of the four diamonds, the only furniture in the room being a single black circular table in the center on the it.

Blue Diamond is already here, leaning against the wall, and seeming particularly fascinated with her fingertips. 

Noticing they came in she glances over and addresses White Diamond in a monotone. “Yellow said she’d be a little late. She’s apparently personally chasing a lead on Indicolite. Someone supposedly reported seeing her with a human of all things. Or at least something resembling a human.” Blue Diamond’s eyes flick to Steven, and Peridot immediately jumps to his defense. 

“Steven has not been out of my sight except when he is in his bed chamber, or his bath chamber, so I can guarantee that he has never seen that traitor Ma’am!”

“Okay, Peridot. We believe you, you don’t need to yell it.” White Diamond laughs condescendingly, and peridot shrinks back, looking embarrassed. “Now, Steven. We just want to go over what we’ll be doing in the ritual. Now, I know you sometimes have issues when it comes to summoning your weapon, but you’re going to need to for this.”

Steven nods slowly and in the _twenty minutes_ it takes Yellow Diamond to show, White and Blue Diamond spend the whole time teaching Steven how to summon his shield, White providing insight on how his mother used to summon it, and Blue walking him through the technical ways a gem weapon is summoned. By the time Yellow gets there, he almost has it. 

“Sorry for being late, but it was an honest shot at ending the Pink Traitor. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that!”

“Did you catch here?” Blue Diamond asks, not really sounding like she cares about the answer in the slightest. 

“No, but when I do I’m going to crush that traitor’s gem to powder.” She growls. “THREE more of my underlevel enforcers have gone completely missing, and I KNOW it’s her fault.” She walks over next to the other Diamonds. “SO! What exactly are we doing again?”

“Right this second we were teaching Steven how to summon his shield so we could do the ceremony properly.”

Yellow Diamond snickers. “That’s an EASY problem to solve.” 

“Yellow. Stop. Don’t.” Blue says flatly at the same time Yellow was drawing her sword, a magnificent claymore in and unto itself, from her gem and swinging it at Steven.

It clangs against the Shield that appeared as he brought his arm up, just barely managing to parry the blow. Steven stares at the suddenly appearing shield in wonder, unable to stop the grin plastered on his face. 

“Boom. Problem solved. Easy. Can we rehearse the actual thing now? Because I don’t really remember my part in it.” 

White Diamond scowls. “You _can’t_ be serious!? First you’re twenty minutes late, then you have the gall to _attack him_ when we JUST told you he was struggling to summon his shield, now you’re saying you don’t remember what you’re supposed to do!”

“Well EXCUSE ME, but some of us have more important things on our mind than some ritual we haven’t done for over ten thousand years!” 

As the Diamonds are caught up arguing, Lapis sneaks up behind them, making funny faces and giving the Diamonds bunny ears, and devil horns and doing other silly hand gestures behind their heads. 

Steven and Peridot both stifle a laugh, but Peridot then gasps slightly, clapping her fingers over her mouth and glaring daggers at Lapis, who’s sticking her tongue out and miming her fingers walking across Blue Diamond (who is staying out of this argument, and is standing in stony silence with her arms crossed). Peridot sneaks around behind them and drags Lapis away from the Diamonds, Lapis silently laughing the whole time.

After about ten minutes of White and Yellow Diamond bickering about meaningless things, Steven cuts across them both. “Hey! Would you guys stop it! There are more important things to do than arguing about nonsense! Like teaching me this ritual thing at all!”

“Hmm. I was wondering if he was going to fill his mother’s role as a mediator. Seems likely as of right now.” Blue Diamond sighs. “And he does have a point. You both are wasting time.”

White Diamond takes a deep breath and composes herself. “Yes, Yes. We were. I apologize Steven. We’ll go over the ritual now, it’s really rather simple...” So simple in fact, it only takes about 15 minutes to teach Steven and refresh Yellow Diamond on it. And so leasure time begins. 

Leaving the meeting room, Steven runs outside, laughing excitedly, and Peridot is visibly a mixture of annoyed and worried. 

“What-er- fun have you decided to have today, Steven?” Steven, saying nothing, but grinning broadly, motions her and Lapis closer to him. Lapis springs next to him immediately, Peridot hesitates a moment before stepping closer.

Steven summons his bubble and rolls them onto the train line, despite Peridot’s immediate protests, and with one little push, sends them spinning fast down the steep slope of the rail, Peridot screaming for dear life while Steven and Lapis are laughing. They go flying off the line at a harsh angle, between numerous buildings and over large swathes of land, and crash land on a street, dust billowing out as the impact site leaves a small crater in its midst. 

Peridot slowly opens her eyes, and Steven drops the bubble, laughing at how FUN that was. “D-did we… survive?” She squeaks and slowly gets to her feet. “We survived! We survived falling all the way from the palace level to…” She glances around, flinching slightly at the bland yet familiar utilitarian buildings around them. “Third level.” She chuckles nervously. “We fell from the palace level to the third level and we survived.” 

Lapis giggles. “Weeee should probably find the nearest train path and go back up.”

Peridot, who still looks kind of shaken, nods and pulls up her screen. After a moment she dismisses it. “O-okay. Our train car should be on it’s way down here. The nearest path is this way…” She slowly walks off.

“Cool! That was FUN.” Steven runs after Peridot. “Wasn’t that fun!?”

“Never, _ever_ do that again.” 

“… You-” Steven stops, remembering how she reacted the last time he compared her and Pearl, and stops. “You, uh, umh, don’t like heights or something?”

“Not when I’m in a situation where I am incapable of saving myself from certain death.”

“Pfft, you’re being a buzz kill Peri. Steven’s bubble kept us safe. You know, he traveled through space in that! I had to push it!” 

“I don’t care how safe or unsafe it actually was. I have no desire to repeat the experience.”

“Awww. It was fun.” Steven pulls on Peridot’s arm. “Maybe just from level 10 instead next time Dot?”

“Your idea of ‘fun’ is continuing to prove to be highly detrimental to both yours and my continued existence.” She stops walking, pulling her arm away from Steven. “And no. Never. Again.”

The train zooms up in front of them, it’s glittering beauty almost out of place on level three, and she herds Lapis and Steven aboard. 

“I just wish you two would act more responsible.” Peridot mutters through clenched teeth. 

“Awww, do you care about us Peri?”

“No! I just know I’ll get in trouble if either of you- but especially Steven- winds up injured or damaged in someway!”

“You totally care about us.” Steven says cheerfully setting down. “I wanna… have a water balloon fight for the rest of my leisure time!”

“You have got to be kidding…” Peridot groans.

Just shy of two hours later and after one fight about getting Steven dried off that just got Peridot soaked too, plus Lion and Connie showing up in the middle of and joining in on the water balloon fight with Steven and Lapis, Peridot finally gets a dry Steven and Lapis on to the train to go prepare of the ceremony. 

“Honestly. Can we _never_ do that again!?”

“Oh! Come on, Dot! It was fun, even though Lapis was cheating!”

“Cheating!? How was I cheating!? There weren’t even any rules!”

“You were totally moving the water in the balloons to make sure every one you threw hit me! That was SO cheating!” Steven laughs. “Aaaaand Dooot! It was perfectly safe! It was fun and safe! Isn’t that what you wanted?” Steven scoots to be next to Peridot and hugs her from the side. She goes very stiff.

“Let. Me. Go.” She squeaks, and Steven pulls back frowning. 

“It was a hug Dot! It means you’re my friend, remember!”

“I’d hardly call you a friend, Steven. I am your escort. Nothing more.”

“Well, you’re certainly not my enemy.” Steven grins. “Which means you’re my friend!”

“Do… Do all humans have such strange, binary ideas about friendship?” Peridot scoots awkwardly away from Steven.

“No, I don’t think so, but in my book, anyone that’s not an enemy is a friend, and even enemies could be potential friends!”

“You are very peculiar Steven.”

“I know! And I’m proud of who I am!” Steven grins at Peridot, who blinks slowly at him.

“What? Why… Why would you be _proud_ of being different?” 

“Wha? Uh, because everyone is different in their own way?” Steven and Peridot stare at each other, equally confused. 

The train stops and the doors open to the Dome of Gemkind. “Ooooh! I am so excited!” Steven charges off the train, Lapis and Peridot trailing after him.

Peridot pushes Steven towards the dome. “Go! Lazuli and I are going to have to wait out here, but you need to go and prepare.”

“But what preparation needs doing? I already know what I’m suppose to dooooaaah!” Peridot pushes him again and he goes into the dome, grumbling under his breath. Almost immediately someone is combing his hair and they’re gone before Steven gets a good look at them, disappearing from view, though they seemed light coloured. He sits on the edge of the fountain waiting for something to do, and watching all the shards in the pink quarter glitter and glow while he waits. Several times thoughout his wait some gem fusses over his appearance and is gone again before he can get a good look at them.

Steven sits there for almost half an hour when, finally, one of the gems that have been milling around the dome grabs him by the hand and leads him out of the dome from a door opening from a pane of glass in the pink quarter, his gem flashing as they leave. Steven stops dead and looks around the small room that… that appears to be made of pink clouds… Like his mom’s room in the Crystal Temple back on Earth.

The gem, who wears a white diamond, smiles at him. “Hi.” She whispers, leaning towards him. “I used to work for you back in the day. I hope I can again soon. A lot of people have missed you.” She pulls back, and speaks at a normal volume. “Now, just wait here for your cue, the gem on the top of the doorway will glow.” She points at it, and Steven nods. “Well, see you later!”

Steven frowns. She seemed nice, but he wishes everyone would stop assuming he’s his mom. Another half an hour of waiting later the light _finally_ comes on, and Steven jumps to his feet at steps out.

Just as he steps out, so do the other three Diamonds, and all the shards start glowing at once, shining a beautiful iridescent glow over the entire dome at once. Steven looks up for just a moment and sees that glow leaking out and blooming into the sky above them. It takes all his will power not to laugh with excitement as he walks carefully down the path to the center with the fountain. He stands facing the fountain for 3 seconds, carefully counting it under his breath so he doesn’t mess up, and turns around, away from the fountain. Now, in 5 seconds he needs to summon his weapon, which is supposed to make the gems glow even brighter. He pulls his shield right on time, relieved that he actually managed to do it, just as the other Diamonds summoned their weapons. White Diamond’s spear, long and delicate looking, but deadly, Yellow Diamond’s fierce sword, as strong and menacing as she is, and Blue Diamond’s spiked mace, simple, straightforward and effective. All four weapons summoned at once caused every gem shard to flare brightly, sending a massive beam of rainbow light into the sky and momentarily blinding Steven. Blinking the dark spots from his vision, Steven holds still for another minute, watching a beam of light circling the inside of the dome, slowly lowering on the wall, until it vanishes into the sand circle and Steven relaxes, laughing exuberantly. 

“THAT WAS SO COOL!” He jumps up and down excitedly, his shield vanishing, and White Diamond puts a hand on his head. 

“Calm down Steven. We’re still in public.” She ruffles his hair and begins to greet the gems flooding into the dome. Steven, though always happy to meet new people, shakes hundreds of hands, several of which he is 90% sure came up to him to shake hands multiple times, before he can find Peridot and Lapis, and by the time he does, he’s exhausted. Is being royalty always this tiring?

He leans against Peridot’s leg. “Steven is tired now. He wants to go home.”

“Yes, okay Steven. Please get off my leg.” Steven pulls back and the three of them, with some effort to get through the crowds, many still rushing up to meet Steven, get to the train car and back to their quarters on the 10th level. 

Peridot falls into a chair and groans. “What a day.” 

“Oh, come on, you’ve gotta admit it was _really_ fun Peri.” Lapis laughs, flopping down on the sofa.

“Well, yes-” She flushes, her entire face darkening. “No! No! No! Nonono! No! NO! It was terrible! And reckless! And a pain! No!”

Steven gasps, running over and hugging Peridot. “You like us!”

“Uuuugh!”


	11. Chapter 10: His Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Steven are reunited.

### Chapter 10

#### His Pearl

Soft footsteps echo down the hall, quite different than the heavy footsteps of Jasper coming down to taunt them. Rather than heavyset and imposing, these steps are elegant, deliberate, commanding similar respect, but without the need to prove themselves through force. Amethyst’s gasp concerns Pearl, but she doesn’t allow herself to look up from her pensive gazing at the floor, even when the footsteps stop right in front of her cell. 

“Stand up defect.” A cool, compelling voice, purrs, and Pearl finds herself lurching to her feet, fear striking deep within her. _White Diamond_. She keeps her gaze on the floor. “Look at me.” Pearl immediately looks up, locking eyes with the ever-imposing figure, and she fights every instinct in her body, forcing herself to not let fear overwhelm her completely. The gem destabilization field drops, and White Diamond smiles menacingly at Pearl. “Do follow me.” She chuckles. “You know, I must say I’m impressed. You and your Crystal Gems did a fine job of raising that boy up to now. He has everything we missed about Pink Diamond and none of her self-righteousness that made her a problem originally.” She glances at Pearl. “Nothing? Oh, right. You are permitted to speak.”

Pearl swallows, choosing her words carefully because they very well may be what decides whether she lives or dies. “I believe he is very much like his mother yes, but he does lack many of her flaws.”

“Good, good. Now, did you ever _really_ care about the Earth? I get the feeling you didn’t.”

“Earth itself was a beautiful planet, but we’ve taken beautiful planets and altered their beauty in the past. I assume the question you are really asking is if I ever cared about humans… and the answer is no. Humans are a near worthless short lived species that seem near universally obnoxious. They took Rose from me. The only thing they ever gave was Steven…”

“Then why’d you fight to defend them?”

“Everything I ever did, I did for her.”

“Loyal to your master to the end. Hmm, yes. Okay then. Cease speaking.”

Pearl ducks her head, hoping that what she said was enough to spare her life. Maybe she’ll be assigned to be a basic attendant Pearl at a galaxy warp. That wouldn’t be so bad. White Diamond leads her all the way out of the dungeons and into the underslums- Pearl catching just a peek of _Connie_ and _Lion_ as they dive behind a rock, thanking the stars that White Diamond didn’t see them- and onto a guarded platform that raises them to level one, where they board a private train car. 

Pearl clenches her teeth and tries not to panic. She might survive. She might survive. White Diamond could very well be taking her to where she’s going to work, rather than to a lab to be harvested. Heck, if they were going to harvest her, why not just poof her and be done with it? Why go through all this pomp and circumstance? She’s probably going to live. Probably. 

Pearl watches the lights by the navigation panel- not easily noticeable unless you know what you’re looking for, and it seems at it’s core the train design has changed very little over the last several millennia- change as they go to higher and higher levels of the city.

It stops on level ten, which makes no sense to Pearl. Why would she be on ten? Ten was where the highest ranking gems that weren’t diamonds live. There aren’t, or at least there didn’t used to be, any labs on the tenth level. And no one on the tenth level would _ever_ want a _defective_ Pearl. Ever.

She’s lead into a housing building and taken to the top floor. _The penthouse? On a level ten building?_ Wherever they’re going it’s to the home of someone very important, which only served to further unnerve Pearl. White Diamond knocks quietly on the door, that simple act of asking permission surprising Pearl as well. Who could possibly live here that White Diamond would bother with being polite enough to _knock?_

The door is opened by… some disproportionate green gem, with very long legs and arms, and fingers that don’t appear to be attached to anything. She blinks a couple times, staring at Pearl, and bows very low to White Diamond. White Diamond smiles and walks in, Pearl silently following, getting more confused by the second.

“Hey, Dot, who was at th-” Steven freezes just around the corner, his bag of chips falling to the ground. “PEARL!” He bursts into tears and runs over, hugging Pearl tightly- practically bowling over White Diamond in the process. Pearl grins for half a second, tears welling up in her eyes, and she ruffles his hair-before it dawns on her that she can't show this kind of emotion around White Diamond and forces her expression to be neutral again, even though all she really wants to do is fall to the floor next to Steven, hug him, and never ever let him go again.

“Well I see that you’re quite happy, so I’ll just leave you be Steven.” White Diamond smiles at him, which sends a chill down Pearl’s spine, and he grins back at her, which somehow manages to bother her even more. She leans very close to Pearl and hisses in her ear. “I would advise changing that star to a Pink Diamond. Wouldn't want to walk around wearing the symbol of a traitor.” She smiles and strides out of the room.

‘Dot’ walks over looking at Pearl with narrowed eyes. “She gave you a pearl?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Peridot, this is Pearl! Pearl, meet Peridot! I know she seems mean on the surface, but she’s not so bad!” 

“Do… do you _know_ this pearl, Steven?” 

Before Steven can answer, Lapis Lazuli walks into the hall, bringing a twinge of anger in Pearl. “Guys, what is going on heeaaahg!” She stumbles backward into the wall, staring wide-eyed at Pearl. “WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE!?”

“White Diamond brought her. Look, Lapis, I know you don’t like her, but she’s important to me. Please give her a chance.” He grabs Pearl’s hand and pulls her towards Lapis. “Introduce yourselves. Start over. Be friends.”

Lapis frowns, but hesitantly holds out her hand. “Hi. I’m Lapis Lazuli.”

Pearl looks at the extended hand for a moment, then her eyes flit back to Peridot who looks doubtful, before she sighs and shakes Lapis’ hand. “Pearl. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“What?! Ugh! Nothing makes sense anymore!” Peridot throws her hands into the air and stomps away. 

“What’s up with her?” Steven frowns in the direction Peridot stormed off in. “You know the only thing that way is my bathroom, right Dot!?” 

“Yes I am aware!” 

Steven shrugs, then grins up at Pearl. “Ohmygosh! I can’t believe you’re here Pearl! I’ve missed you so much!” 

Pearl laughs softly and crouches down in front of Steven, trying very hard not to cry. She runs her fingers through his hair and smiles. “You had me worried sick Steven.” She kisses his forehead. “Never do that to me again.”

Tears well up in his eyes as he mouths _‘I’m sorry’_ Pearl nods, and pulls him into a hug, not quite believing her luck. Not only did she survive, but she was assigned to _Steven._

“Where are the other Crystal Gems!? Are they okay?!” Steven asks, pulling away from the hug, but keeping his hands on her shoulders, with rather unfortunate timing, as Peridot walks back out of the bathroom, apparently finding sitting in it unsatisfactory.

“Wait, this is the Crystal Clod pearl?” Peridot sneers. “Ugh, just great. Not only do I have to deal with these two, but I have to deal with a stupid defect running about…”

“Peridot! Be nice! Pearl is very important to me!” Steven pulls Pearl back into a hug, she she can’t help but smile. Despite everything, he’s still Steven. White Diamond is completely wrong if she thinks he won’t cause them just as much as, if not more, trouble than Rose had caused them. 

It’s a solid minute, Pearl just clinging to Steven, feeling like she’ll lose him again if she ever lets go, before Peridot says anything. 

“Is… Is that an order, Steven?” 

“Does it have to be!?” Steven snaps, then pauses and murmurs to Pearl, still gripping him tightly. “Pearl, Pearl, I know, I missed you a lot too, but it’s _really_ hard to be indignant with you hugging me.”

Pearl pulls away from him, trying very hard to keep her face at least somewhat neutral despite how overwhelmed she’s feeling. 

“Okay! Peridot! I know you probably don’t trust her and such, but not only is she important to me, but White Diamond brought her here, meaning that they know and are obviously okay with it! So stop acting like she’s broken a rule, because Pearl would _never_ break a rule, that’s just not who she is!” Steven takes a deep breath. “So, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!”

Peridot blinks several times, and sighs. _“Fine_. I’ll grant you this: The pearl is a very fancy one.” Pearl’s face flushes, and she stares at the ground, wanting to conceal how flustered she is. Peridot crosses her arms and stalks out of the hall area, into the sitting room rather than Steven’s bathroom this time, muttering under her breath. 

“Geeze, what is her deal? Does she just call _everyone_ she meets the ‘their name’ for a while?” Steven huffs, then beams at Pearl. “I still can’t believe you’re here! Oh my gosh! Peridot told me you guys were in prison, which bothered me- but what am I supposed to do!? Lapis said my judgement was clouded or something, but I know you guys are good people! And now you’re here, and it’s great, but… Where are the others?”

Pearl fidgets, wondering just how much she can get away with saying in front of Lapis Lazuli, let alone Peridot likely listening in the next room over. “… Amethyst, Ruby, and Sapphire- Oh, uh, yeah Garnet is a fusion- are all still awaiting trial…”

“Oooooh. So they just haven’t been cleared like you yet.” He grins. “How long until their trials?” 

Pearl clears her throat. “Amethyst’s is sooner, about a month, and Ruby and Sapphire’s are a little ways out…”

“Oh! So I might see Amethyst again in as soon as a month? That’s great!”

Tears well up in Pearl’s eyes, and she looks away from Steven. “I… Oh, Steven.” She sighs, trying very hard not to cry. She’s done enough of that recently, and she definitely shouldn’t cry in front of Steven, not like this. “I… I’m not so certain that they will be acquitted like I was.”

“Wha? But, why not?” Steven frowns, staring at the floor. “Is… Is everything okay Pearl?”

“Everything is just fine!” She squeaks. “It’s all fine! Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on with you!?”

Steven blinks, looking concerned, but goes with her haphazard changing of the subject. “Well, lots of stuff. I mean, we got here and I found out Mom was Pink Diamond- why’d you guys never tell me that!?”

“Your mother stopped going by Pink Diamond over 5000 years ago. To tell you that her name was Pink Diamond would have been false, because it wasn’t anymore.”

“You still should have told me…” She crosses his arms, glaring at floor. 

Pearl winces. “We had yet to even tell you about the war, how could we possibly explain something like that…” She crosses her arms, shrinking in a bit on herself anticipating his reaction.

“WHY!? Why did you guys never tell me about any of that!?”

Pearl fights back tears, staring off at a random point in space. “It… It was messy, Steven. It was war, and we weren’t sure how to explain it to you. You’re still so young, we… I didn’t think you were ready. I planned to tell you Steven… I just hadn’t figured out how.” She swallows, all her willpower going into staying calm as to not get Peridot’s attention. 

“Oh” Steven looks down at the floor, then up at Pearl. “It does all sound pretty scary…” 

“Heh, uh, well, Steven you haven’t finished telling me what’s going on with you?”

“Oh, ri-”

“Bureaucrats!” Lapis cuts across. “Bureaucrats are what’s been going on! A whole bunch of them, and it’s waaay boring! Now! Can you two just going back to hugging! It was much less awkward!”

Steven laughs. “It doesn’t work that way Lapis! But, yeah, there’s been a lot of boring stuff where they teach me how homeworld works, but I’ve been pretty much allowed to do whatever I want in what Peridot calls ‘leisure time’.”

“I see, uh, so, why is she here, exactly?”

Lapis sighs. “We are ‘unacquainted’ with the ‘Modern Homeworld’ so we’ve been assigned a technician as our permanent escort to watch us like a hawk and go into waaaaaay overly technical explanations when you’re just asking what something is.”

“She seems… interesting.” Pearl laughs awkwardly, wishing that they _didn’t_ have an escort. Lapis seems relaxed enough that she probably won’t be a problem- even if she’s the one who _stole_ Steven, but this Peridot will likely cause Pearl a lot of trouble.

“If by ‘interesting’ you mean an antisocial nerd and buzzkill, then yeah, definitely.”

“Lapis, that’s not nice.” Steven admonishes, and Pearl can’t help but giggle. 

“I’m sure she’s not… that bad.” Pearl laughs nervously, and Steven grins at her widely.

“Oh! Oh! Once she warms up to you Pearl, you two will get along great! She’s smart, she cares about the rules, she likes building things- You two have so much in common!”

Pearl blinks several times. “Uh, if you say so Steven. If you say so.” Steven grabs her hand, pulling her into another room. 

“Come on, it’s silly to just stand around in the hall!”

“You’re seriously talking to her like a person? How improper.” Peridot sneers, glancing up from her screen as they come into the room. 

“Peridot, what did I say about being mean?”

“Yes. Of course. I apologize.” Peridot mutters the most insincere apology that Pearl has ever heard before going back to her screen. 

Pearl stands awkwardly in the doorway as Lapis flops onto the couch and Steven starts digging through a closet. 

Steven glances over to her as he pulls a box out. “Pearl! Go ahead and sit! Let’s play a game! Uh, I was only able to remember the pieces and stuff for a few, but we have checkers! We can play checkers, no water balloons necessary!”

Pearl chuckles slightly and takes a seat on the floor next to the coffee table. “Okay, Steven. We can play checkers.”

Steven slides across the floor to her on his knees. “Yay! I got chess pieces too, but I don’t actually remember the rules to chess.”

Pearl sighs, rolling her eyes. “Oh, Steven. I’ll teach you _again_ later. Though I don’t know how you keep forgetting. I’ve taught you how to play chess at least three times now.”

“You keep forgetting the rules to Citchen Calamity.” Steven murmurs matter of factly while he sits up the checkers board.

Pearl scowls. “I did not forget any of the rules. The problem is that I never _understood_ any of the rules.” 

“It wasn’t that complicated! I mean, I don’t remember them off the top of my head, but if I tried, I bet I could remember _at least_ half of them!”

“Okay Steven, if you say so.”

The two play checkers, and after Pearl beats Steven twice, and Pearl throws it once to make him feel better, she moves on and teaches him how to play chess. Halfway through their first game of chess, Peridot scoffs and leaves the room. 

Steven watches her go with a frown. “I… I’m sure she’ll warm up to you.”

“I’m not so sure, but it matters very little to me.” Pearl frowns at the closed door Peridot went through. “What is that room?”

“Her room, Me and and Lapis aren’t allowed in there.” Steven shrugs. “I think she just doesn’t want us to break her robots. Oh! Wait! You don’t have a room Pearl!”

“Lapis and I, Steven. The proper phrasing is Lapis and I.” Pearl pauses, about to address Steven’s comment about her not having a room, when Lapis bursts out laughing. 

“Oh! Oh! Oh, geeze! They are just alike, aren’t they!” She rolls off the couch, cracking up, and Pearl blinks slowly at her. 

“Uh, well, anyway. As I was about to say, It’s perfectl-” She’s cut off by Steven cracking up as well, and she just blinks several times in utter bewilderment. “What’s so funny?”

Steven, still snickering, smiles at Pearl. “Oh, sorry, Uh, the very first day we met Peridot she did the exact same thing with correcting me on using me instead of I.” 

“Okaaaaaay. Well, as I was saying, it is perfectly fine that I don’t have a room. Gems don’t need sleep, so it’s by no means necessary.”

“But where will you put all your stuff?”

Pearly idly makes a move on the chessboard. “All my stuff? Steven, every object I’ve ever owned is on Earth. I have no stuff. Oh, and check.”

Steven’s eyes go wide. “All your swords! And your other stuff! No! That’s not right!”

Pearl sighs. “It’s fine, Steven. I don’t need any of that. I’m just happy to be here. With you.”

Steven’s eyes shine, and he blushes. “I’m happy to be here with you too! I missed you! Oh! Oh! There’s tons of fun things we need to do together! We need to go to the Theatre, and definitely the Concert Hall! Oh, I hope Connie shows up again soon, she was really worried about you guys, so I think she’d be really super glad to see you too!”

Pearl nods, a little overwhelmed, but glad to hear that Connie made contact with him and is alright. The glimpse she got of her earlier wasn’t really enough to tell. “Are… Are you talking about the Diamond Crowne Theatre… and the Jewelsong Concert Hall? Are they still around? Or have they been replaced?”

“Oh! Oh! They’re the same places! You know what I’m talking about! Aaaa! We have to go to them!” Steven squeals, clapping his hands. “DOT! SCHEDULE TRIPS TO THE THEATRE AND CONCERT HALL ASAP!”

Peridot opens her door. “Is the pearl being brought?”

“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Peridot rolls her eyes. “Fine then. I will.” She slams her door, and Steven blinks several times. 

“I seriously don’t understand what her problem is.” Steven stands up, quickly moving a piece on the chessboard. “I’m gonna get a snack. Do either of you want anything?”

Pearl quickly shakes her head no. Food is _disgusting._

Lapis shrugs. “Eh, surprise me.”

The moment Steven is out of the room, Lapis sits up. “You _never_ told him!” She whisper-yells to Pearl, who flinches.

“What was I supposed to say?” Pearl scowls, whispering as well. “‘By the way Steven, a really long time ago your mother used to _own_ me.’ How do you think he would have reacted to that!?”

“ _Maybe_ if you hadn’t kept so many secrets from him you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“ _You_ were the one who decided to take him off of Earth!”

“I didn’t know he was _Pink Diamond_! When he said his gem was Rose Quartz I was sure we were going to be executed on the spot! You should have _told him_ that he was Pink Diamond!”

“He’s only _eleven_. Eleven journeys of the earth around its sun. Do you even realize how young he is!? He’s not ready for that sort of thing!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you were his _Mom_. Oh, wait, no. You were his Mom’s _servant._ ”

Pearl scowls, anger towards the blue gem flaring up again. “I helped raise him. I think I know what he is and isn’t ready hear yet, and he’s not ready to hear this!”

“Are you sure? Or are _you_ just not ready for him to hear it?” 

Pearl’s face flushes, and her fists clench, but when Steven walks back into the room she forces herself to relax, shooting one last glare at Lapis. 

“So I got you a bag of chips, and a granola bar, does that work Lapis?”

“Yup, works for me.” She catches the snack foods that Steven tosses her way. “So what was your life back on Earth like, anywho? I’m a bit curious. I already know a little, but it’s hard to know what’s going on when you’re trapped in a mirror and _stored in someone’s gem_.” She glares at Pearl who sighs, but doesn’t dignify it with a response. 

“Huh, oh. Uh.” Steven glances at Peridot’s door and shrugs. “It was nice. Simplier than all this Pink Diamond stuff. I lived in a house on the front of the Crystal Temple, slowly learning to use my powers, occasionally helping them fight gem monsters, but I wasn’t really allowed on the serious missions much. I hung out with different people in the city. Lars, Sadie, Pedee, Buck, Sour Cream, Jenny, Kiki, etc. … Onion. And I’d spend days with my dad sometimes. And Connie, who didn’t live in Beach City, but she lived close enough. It was fun. I… I liked it there.” 

“Cool, what were the gems like? I mean, how were they like to live with on Earth?”

Steven glances at Pearl, who _quickly_ smiles for him, but scowls at Lapis the second he turns away. “Well, Amethyst was reckless, she liked to eat. A lot. And weird things too. She wasn’t a very good teacher. When she tried to teach me shapeshifting I wound up turning all my fingers into cats and I didn’t know how to get them back to normal. Dad wound up helping me get rid of them with water. But she was fun! And she would do dumb things with me if I asked her too, and would watch Crying Breakfast Friends with me even though she didn’t like it.” He pauses, staring at the floor. “Uhm. Garnet doesn’t- er, didn’t really talk much, but that just meant her words meant more. I could always count on her to be around when I needed her. And she was brave, and tough and scared all the bad guys away.” He sighs again, and smiles sadly over his shoulder at Pearl, before turning back to an eager looking Lapis. “And Pearl was doting, maybe a little overbearing sometimes-” Pearl covers her face to hide how bright she’s blushing. “-but I know she was just trying to protect me and help me because she cares about me.”

Lapis frowns and falls back on the couch. “Eh, doesn’t sound so great to me. But if you like sloppy, silent, and overbearing, that’s your business.”

“Uhm… Lapis. I’d rather you be nice too. Do I just need to make a sign that says “Be nice at all times” and mount it on the wall in here?”

Lapis sighs. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I know they’re important too you. I’ll be nice.”

“Aaaaand?”

“I’m sorry Pearl that I was rude.” She crosses her arms. “Uhm. So what is this game you’re playing. It obviously uses the same board as checkers, but waaaay different pieces. Like-” She picks up a knight knocking several pieces over with her elbow. “This is a horse. It’s a horse.”

Pearl stares blankly at the now messed up board. “Steven and I were still playing, Lapis. And you just knocked over half the remaining pieces.”

“Whoops. Well, I guess that means your game is done!” She plops down on the floor next to Steven, clearing the board despite Pearl’s sputtering protests. “Could you teach me how to play? It gets really boring here sometimes.” 

“… Sure, I don’t see why not.”


	12. Chapter 11: The Royal Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven spends time with the other Diamonds.

### Chapter 11

#### The Royal Life

“Ugh. Pearl, how many times are you going to straighten my bow tie?” Pearl says nothing, and continues fiddling with the frilly necktie which Steven was forced into a short while ago.

Quite suddenly Peridot starts combing his hair. “You need to look perfect for this situation Steven. It is a formal ball right at the palace of the Diamonds.”

“Oh, Peridot, calm down.” White Diamond says from her spot leaning against the wall. “The pearl doing so makes sense, but you shouldn’t fret. He looks _fine_.”

Pearl stops fiddling at once, and stands up stiffly, staring blankly ahead. Steven frowns at her, before turning to White Diamond. “Do I look fancy?”

She chuckles. “Yes, Steven. You look very fancy.” She walks over, grabbing his hand and spinning him around. “This ball will be absolutely lovely! Oh, I always love a party.” After the spin, Steven loses his balance and falls over laughing. 

“Do you hold parties like this often?”

White Diamond pulls him back to his feet. “Oh, once every few centuries or so.” She laughs. “They’re always lovely, but I usually can’t get Blue Diamond out of her labs long enough to actually take part in the festivities” She pats Steven’s head. “Oh, your coming has been such a delight, Steven! Not only has it rallied the people, but it’s made us Diamonds close again!” She sighs, clasping her hands together and going on her knees next to Steven. “I’ll be the first to admit that your mother’s betrayal nearly shattered our entire culture. We nearly fell apart without her. But _you_ , you are fixing that already.”

Steven grins. “I still don’t quite understand what’s going on, but I’m glad I’m helping!” 

She laughs again, and stands back up. “Oh, we really should get going. We wouldn’t want to be late to our own party, would we?”

Steven laughs exuberantly as White Diamond pulls him out to her private train car, his little entourage following him.

The ballroom at the Diamond Palace is beautiful. It’s shines in the four colours, but it’s not consistent. The colours shift and vary, glowing and glittering all across the room. As he and White Diamond enter the colours pulse, and around them is glowing circles of pink and white. 

“This. Is. So. COOL!” 

The room is already fairly full- it seems they are late to their own party after all. Yellow is leaning against a wall, surrounded by a number of burly looking gems that she appears to be in conversation with, and Blue is just standing in the middle of the room, looking at a screen floating in front of her face and seeming to completely ignore those around her who look like they’re trying to talk to her.

Other groups of people are clustered around the room, just having conversations, and soft classical music echoes throughout the room beautifully, though it’s a bit melancholic. 

Steven glances around. “I… I thought this was a dance?” He looks around, finding the band off in the corner and dashing off to it, despite Peridot’s protests, and Pearl’s gentle attempt to hold him back. 

“Hey, hey, hey. This song is WAY slow, and NO fun to dance to, I mean, look, NO ONE is dancing, so can you play a faster song? This is a dance after all!”

The band members all glance at one another, and the violin player grins at Steven. “Any particular song in mind Pink Diamond? Or just whatever faster song we wish?”

“It’s Steven, and I don’t really know Homeworld music well enough to say any particular song, so do whatever!” The violinist nods, and Steven grins, running back to where the group is still standing off to the side, stunned. He grabs Pearl’s hands as the pace of the music picks up. 

“Dance with me Pearl!” He laughs, pulling her out on the dance floor. “Let’s have fun!”

“Steven, this is so improper…” Pearl murmurs, but she does dance with him. After just a few moments the energy seems to ripple across the room, and many gems join in Steven’s dancing, but though he doesn’t end up dancing nearly as long as he’d like to be. Just a few minutes into the festivities his arm is grabbed and he’s yanked off the dance floor.

“STEVEN.” White Diamond hisses, before pausing and smiling sweetly at Steven. “That… That was highly _improper._ ” She claps her hands together. “Now, encouraging that there be actual dancing at a ball isn’t bad in of itself, but it is a _formal ball_ so it should be restricted to _formal dancing_. Not that we you were doing isn’t… enjoyable, it’s just not proper etiquette. And that’s saying _nothing_ of your choice of dance partner…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I… I don’t really know what is or isn’t ‘proper etiquette’…”

Behind White Diamond, Peridot pulls on her hair, and Pearl visibly sighs.

“We’ll… have to make sure you learn soon Steven.” Still smiling, she laughs in a way that sounds very rehearsed and only slightly forced. “I’m going to have a word with Blue Diamond. Peridot, keep an eye on him, _please_.” She saunters off to where Blue Diamond has shrunk against a wall, staring out over the active dance floor with wide eyes. 

“Steeeevan. _Why_? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?” Peridot groans, curling in on herself. “Not only did you embarrass _me_ this time with your antics, but you embarrassed the _Diamonds_ themselves!”

Lapis grins. “I thought it was cool.”

“Nobody asked you Lazuli! Even the _pearl_ agrees with me! That was _absurd_!” 

“I… was just… I was just trying to have fun Peridot.” Steven stares down at the ground. “I didn’t think _fun_ would be a problem.”

She pulls down on her hair. “ _Steven._ You need to be proper in your forms of entertainment. That was _far_ from proper.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do? If it’s a dance, I’m gonna want to dance. I mean, if dancing at a dance isn’t ‘proper etiquette’, then I don’t know what is?” He pauses. “Could someone, maybe just, tell me?”

“It wasn't the fact that you were dancing Steven, but the kind of dance.” Pearl says immediately, getting a glare from Peridot.

“Yes, yes, what the pearl says. A proper formal ballroom dance would be… elegant and precise. Now, I don’t personally know how to- Er, that is to say, I am not usually invited to events such as this, but you should know, and since you don’t, you should be taught immediately.”

“Yeah, okay, but who would teach me? I thought I already knew how to dance, but _apparently_ not.”

Peridot sputters. “I don’t know! I’m sure White Diamond has someone in mind.”

Steven crosses his arms and huffs. “So, am I just not allowed to dance anymore at this dance?”

“Unless one of the Diamond’s says that you are permitted to, no. You may no longer dance.” She crosses her arms, turning her nose up at Steven. “You cannot be allowed to embarrass the Diamonds again.”

“Mmm. But … I’m a Diamond, right?”

Peridot freezes, and slowly looks down towards him. “Yeeeees. What exactly are you getting at?”

“Well, I wasn’t embarrassed, and everyone seemed like they were having fun, so I don’t see what was so bad about it.”

“IT WAS A TOTAL BREACH OF ETIQUETTE!”

Steven sticks his tongue out at Peridot, who stomps her foot with a metallic clang. 

“You! You! YOU STEVEN!” Steven snickers, and most of the rest of the night passes without incident as he’s forced to stand on the sidelines and have literally meaningless conversations with the most prestigious members of the upperclass, Lapis adding some levity in making funny faces behind their backs, much to the annoyance of Pearl and Peridot- though Pearl seems more subdued than usual. 

It was late by the time Steven and his entourage get back to their housing and Steven falls into bed hoping to sleep in late the next morning.

Sadly, this was not meant to be. It was very early in the morning that a loud thump against Steven’s door wakes him and Lapis is saying something very quickly from behind the door, though what exactly she’s saying is obscured. “I’m trying to sleep…” He grumbles, opening the door, causing Lapis who was leaning on it to fall over on to Steven. 

“AAA! STEVEN’S UP!” He scrambles out from under Lapis and it takes him a minute to notice Blue Diamond standing in his living room. He yawns. “Good morning Blue Diamond, what brings you here?”

“I need you to come with me to my lab at once, Steven.” 

Steven glances down at his pajamas. “Can I get dressed and have my breakfast first?”

“You can change into proper clothing, but you will do your eating at my lab.”

“Uh, give me a moment- Lapis! Get out of my room! I’ve got to get dressed!” He shoos the blue Gem out of his room, and quickly gets dressed.

He steps out, properly clothed. “So, uh, why are we going to y- oookaaay!” Without a word Blue Diamond grabs his hand and pulls him out of the building to her private train car.

“I wish to take a few basic notes on the exact nature of your hybridization, and I would rather study it in my lab.”

Steven’s eyes go very wide. “Will… Will that hurt?”

“Hmm? Oh no. Not at all. It’s just a few basic tests, measurements- you are much shorter than us, and a scan of your gem. Nothing much.”

“A… Scan of my gem?”

“Hmm, oh yes. Just a basic diagnostic check to make sure your nature as a hybrid didn’t change anything.” 

“Oh. Uh. I don’t… think it did. I mean… I guess my healing powers changed.”

Blue Diamond blinks several times and stares wide-eyed at Steven. “It… Changed? How?”

“Well, it’s not healing tears anymore. It’s healing spit.”

“Intriguing. Does it still work the same way?”

“As far as I know.”

“What have you healed?”

“Uh, my friends eyes and Lapis’ gem.”

Blue Diamond’s eyes flash to Lapis in the corner. “Intriguing. I can only assume this friend you speak of is a human?”

“Well, yeah. I made it so she didn’t need her glasses anymore.” 

“Very intriguing.” She stands up right before the door opens. “We have arrived. Follow me.”

She strides out quickly, and Steven has to run to catch up with her. “So, you just want to look at science stuff with me?”

“Science is what I do Steven. It is my duty to ensure the constant forward march of progress within Gem society.”

“Oh. Is that all you do? I know White Diamond said you spend a lot of time in your labs.”

“Oh, no. I also am in charge of making sure the colonies continue running smoothly. Ever since your mother… left us, Yellow Diamond and I have cooperated on the Kindergarten projects.”

“Uh, what are the Kindergarten projects?”

Blue Diamond stops dead. “You… You don’t even know what a Kindergarten is?” Pearl lets out a little squeak, and Blue’s eyes flick to her. “Oh, and I’d like to do a scan of your pearl’s gem as well.”

“Wha?? Uh. Well, no, I, uh, don’t know what a kindergarten is, and uh… I guess… if it’s okay with her…?”

Blue Diamond starts walking again. “Hah, _okay with her_. You are just as much of a character as your mother. And kindergartens make new gems. Your mother used to run them, but Yellow and I had to take on the workload.”

She leads him into a massive lab where a number of gems are flitting about- all of them stopping briefly to bow to Blue Diamond when she enters. She points to a chair. “Sit.”

After he sits down, Blue Diamond grabs some sort of device, that looks like a gem with three bendy sticks with balls on the end coming off of it, from a nearby table and brings it near Steven’s gem. Seemingly coming to life it spins through the air and connects to Steven’s gem. His gem starts to glow and Blue Diamond picks up a screen and begins hastily reading some sort of text scrolling across it. “Okay… Everything seems… normal enough.” She pulls the device from his gem.

“Up. I want to scan the pearl now, while I’m still using the device.” She motions Pearl towards her, and she stiffly walks over and takes the seat Steven just vacated. She places the device on Pearl’s gem and frowns as she reads the info on her screen. She pulls the device off and returns it to its original place.

“I’ll… keep that in mind…” She mutters, then clears her throat. “Steven. Follow me. The rest of you stay here- and touch nothing Peridot. You were reassigned, therefore you are currently forbidden from interfering in my labs.” She leads Steven over to the other side of the lab and opens the side of a large glass box, big enough to store even a rather sizeable Gem, that’s sitting against the wall. “Step inside. There will be a few basic scans of your body taking precise notes of your measurements, weight, mass, and physiology. All you have to do is stand still.”

Steven steps in the box and the open side snaps closed behind him. Immediately a blue light begins flashing up and down the sides. Steven squints, nearly blinded by it.

There’s a loud crash from somewhere across the lab, and Steven just barely sees Blue Diamond dash off through the light in his eyes. “Wonder where she’s going-aaa brighter!” The light’s brightness increases ten-fold and Steven can’t help but throw up his arms in front of his eyes- which throws him off balance and he stumbles backward into, and after a second, with all the resistance of loose fabric to stop him, through the wall. 

The room through the wall is small- maybe 10 feet by 10 feet, but it has a very tall vaulted ceiling and is completely filled with gems in blue bubbles. “Woah. That’s a lot of bubbles.” 

“ _STEVEN!_ ” Blue Diamond’s arms reach through the wall and grab him, pulling him out roughly. “What did I say about holding still!?”

“Sorry! Sorry! It got really bright! It was hurting my eyes even through my eyelids.”

Blue Diamond is silent for a moment. “… SOMEONE GET HIM A BLINDFOLD!” She shouts over her shoulder. “I apologize. I forgot to account for your human eyes being more sensitive to light. Soon as we finish this you can… eat breakfast and I will explain the Kindergarten projects to you, since I imagine you’ll be taking them over one day.”

“Okaaaaay.” Some gem walks up and quickly hands a scrap of navy fabric to Blue Diamond who nods, and ties it over Steven’s face, before picking him up and sitting him back in the box.

“Just hold still. It will be approximately 5 minutes.”

The next 5 minutes are just an absolutely grueling lesson in why standing still is really hard, but he does it- mostly so he can eat breakfast soon as possible. 

The box is opened and he’s pulled out by Blue Diamond. “That’s interesting. Your body is almost entirely like that of a human, but there is clear signs of magic in your salivary glands as well as in the various muscles in your body- likely an indication that you have in enhanced physical strength of a gem despite your otherwise human body.” She pauses. “You also lack a normal umbilicus, but that is almost certainly because of the location of your gem. Now, I do believe I promised you a meal and a lesson. I already sent your entourage ahead.”

They go and eat breakfast, Blue Diamond explaining in more detail the purpose of making kindergartens in preparing a planet for a colony. Steven quickly gets bored with the lesson, and Pearl seems really uncomfortable with it.

On the way back to their housing from Blue Diamond’s labs, Peridot gets a message on her screen. “Huh? Uh, Steven. Yellow Diamond scheduled something for you tomorrow. For the whole day.”

“… Will I at least get breakfast before I go?”

“… Yes, you should be able too.”

“Yes!”

Peridot woke him early the next morning. 

“Aaaaah. TOO EARLY.”

“You said you wanted to eat breakfast before you had to meet up with Yellow Diamond. You have gotten up this early before, so I assumed it was still acceptable.”

“So… It’s either sleep more, and leave with no breakfast, or get up now and get breakfast before I do… something with Yellow Diamond today.” He pauses. “So, breakfast. Definitely breakfast. I want pancakes.”

“Pancakes. Okay.” She taps in on her screen. “I shall leave you to get dressed. Your breakfast will be waiting for you.”

Steven quickly gets dressed and eats his breakfast, finishing just seconds before Yellow Diamond strides into the room. “Ah! Steven! Are you ready to go?”

“Oh, yeah, sure thing, though… I’m not really sure what we’re doing.”

Yellow throws back her head and laughs. “Hah! I’m training you Steven! You barely know how to summon your weapon, so you need _a lot_ of training before you can stand presentable as a proper Diamond!”

Lapis lays back on the couch. “I’ma stay home for this one. I’m not a combat gem, so I have no real business being there.”

“… Lapis, you were going to steal the entire ocean. In what world is that _not_ something you could use in battle?”

Lapis chuckles, and Pearl’s eyes widen slightly. “Oh, I guess in theory, but that’s not what it’s for. Peri isn’t a combat gem either, but I imagine she’ll go along- and I’m _sure_ you’re bringing Pearl.”

Yellow Diamond sighs. “Every gem can be a combat gem if they try Lazuli, and this particular Peridot is equipped with state of the art Limb Enhancers that Blue put together herself- and I’m pretty sure they have a weapon in them- and if they don’t, they need one!” She laughs again. 

“Of course I’m bringing Pearl! Plus, she’s awesome at combat and stuff. She’s a SUPER good swordfighter!”

“The pearl is … Interesting. In that case, she may actually be _useful_.” She pauses, then a wicked grin twists her face. “Oh, how I _wish_ we had your mother’s sword, but I imagine that’s back on Earth. If it was here I would teach you how to use it. I _suppose_ I could just get you a sword, but, heh, where’s the fun it that! You’re going to learn how dangerous a weapon a shield can be!” 

Steven smiles nervously. His mom’s sword? Does she mean the one in Lion’s head? “Sounds great!” 

Yellow Diamond turns to Pearl. “Do you really know how to fight?”

“Rose taught me swordsmanship so I could fight for her in the war.” Pearl answers flatly, staring blankly ahead. Steven frowns, wondering why she keeps acting so weird whenever they have company. 

Yellow cackles. “Oh, I have to give her credit for that. Turning a _pearl_ into a soldier, who’dve thought?” She smirks. “Well! Let’s get a move on! No need to dawdle!” She strides out the door.

Peridot salutes her, following immediately. “YES MA’AM!”

“No need to shout Peridot.” Yellow Diamond rolls her eyes, taking a seat in her train car. “You do have a weapon in your Limb Enhancers, right?”

“Yes, Ma’am. There is an energy blaster built into both arms.”

“Good! I like all my gems to be capable of combat!”

“Only reasonable Ma’am.” Peridot clears her throat. “Ma’am, may I inquire where it is that we’re going? The train left in the wrong direction to be taking us to the arena.”

She snorts. “Do you have the train paths memorized or something? Nah, I’m not taking him to the arena. I was thinking Shard Peak would make a great place to practice.”

Pearl’s eyes widen slightly, and Peridot makes a slightly strangled noise. “I-I couldn’t agree more, Ma’am.”

“Exactly! Jasper actually suggested it!”

Peridot makes no attempt to hide her annoyance. “Oh, did she now?” 

“What’s Shard Peak?” Steven asks cheerfully, and Yellow Diamond chuckles and smirks. “Oh, it’s a mountain near the edge of the city. I thought varied terrain would be more… useful for teaching real combat.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Steven shrugs. “So you’re going to teach me combat stuff?”

“Well, of course. Combat is what I _do_ , Steven.”

“Blue Diamond said you two worked on the Kindergarten’s together.”

Yellow Diamond scoffs. “Yeah, I guess.” Her eyes flit to Peridot. “I mean, Peridot is certified to work at one, but my primary field is warfare and all non-colony running related off-world things. I run the armies.”

“Cool! What does White Diamond do?”

“Huh? Oh, White just keeps everything running smoothly here at home. Dull work, I imagine. Probably why she loves her parties so much- only fun she ever gets to have.” Yellow cackles. “I dunno really, I don’t get involved in it. Bureaucrats annoy me, I’ll just leave them for White and Blue, thanks. And I’ll just have to make do with stopping us all from dying.”

“Are you like… the space police?”

Yellow blinks several times, before cracking up. “Space Police? Oh man, Steven. You are a funny kid!” The doors open. “Well, we’re here. Outer boundary of the capital. Be warned, there are corrupted gems on this mountain, so you better be prepared to defend yourself.” She chuckles, climbing off the train. She leads them further up the mountain to a somewhat flat area almost 30-ft above the train. 

Once up there, she walks Steven through summoning his shield again, and starts by giving him some basic instructions on how he could most effectively use it. She then pulls a sword- different from her summoned weapon so she must have had it stored away- from her gem. 

“Oi. Pearl. Over here.” Yellow Diamond motions Pearl to her, and she walks slowly and robotically over, staring at the ground. “So, you were trained in sword play? I want to see it.” She shoves the sword at Pearl, and steps back. “Practice fight Steven. He’s not ready to fight me- not even close- but I’d say you’ll do fine as a sparring partner. 

She slowly closes her eyes, and takes her stance. “Don’t worry Steven. I’d never hurt you.” She murmurs. She springs into action, attacking- though clearly holding back- and Steven swinging his shield every time to block every swing of her sword. Though the whole thing was rather sloppy to the trained eyes of Yellow Diamond, Steven was showing promise, effectively blocking and parrying the oncoming strikes with relative ease. After about five minutes of this- moving about the rocky area- Yellow Diamond calls for them to stop. 

She walks towards them, clapping slowly. “I’m impressed. You aren’t super skilled, but that’s more than I would ever expect from a pearl.”

Pearl winces. “I was holding back.” She mutters, and Yellow Diamond blinks.

“Awww, looks who’s defect is showing. If that was you holding back, colour me curious to see what you can do when going all out. Eh, another time.” She turns to look down at Steven. “Steven, you looked _terrified_ every single time the sword hit your shield. What gives? Are you just that unfamiliar with combat or something?”

“W-what if my shield breaks?” Steven stares at the ground nervously, and a moment later Yellow Diamond completely loses it, bending over, her hands on her knees, laughing. 

“Your shield won’t break! You’re a Diamond! Only another Diamond could break your weapon. Literally nothing else will!”

Steven’s eyes widen, and he grins. “ _Nothing_ will break my shield?”

“Nah, nothing.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Steven resummons his shield and jumps onto it, positioning it downwards in order to slide down the mountain side like an improvised sled. Peridot lets out a strangled scream behind him, and Yellow Diamond laughs. 

Peridot flies down with her helicopter fingers and grabs Steven by the back of his shirt before he gets too far down, just barely managing to grab him before the young half-gem went hurdling off a cliff. Peridot drops him back where they were, and Steven laughs and grins. 

“THAT WAS FUN!”

“That was RECKLESS!” Peridot screeches, pulling her hair. “More reckless that riding the rail in your bubble even!”

Yellow Diamond snickers. “Eh, don’t listen to her. She’s a technician, excitement just isn’t something she’s used to having in her life- NOW! Though that was a funny diversion” The royal Gem states, before quickly drawing her sword and levelling it at Steven. “We have training to get back to!”


	13. Chapter 12: Sworn to the Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl teaches Connie how to swordfight so she can protect herself in the underslums.

### Chapter 12

#### Sworn to Sword

“Connie!” Steven shouts stumbling backward as his friend rolls roughly out of a portal in front of him straight into his housing’s kitchen, Lion just behind her. She’s dusty, and her clothes are tattered, but the first thing Steven notices is the red streak on her arm. He runs over and helps her up. “Connie, you’re hurt.” 

She glances at the scrape on her arm, and the number of other bruises she’s sporting and shrugs. “I’m fine Steven. It’s just a scrape.” 

Steven frowns at her, then licks his hand to put it on her arm, which heals instantly as his spit touches it. “Connie. You said you’d be fine down there.” His tone is tinged with concern. 

“Ugh. I am. It was just a scrape, it’s not a big deal.” She crosses her arms and looks away. 

“Connie! You need to be able to defend yourself down there! There are corrupted gems and stuff! That’s why the city is floating!” He throws his arms in the air. “Seriously!”

“I’m doing fine! Lion can protect me!”

“Nuh-uh, not good enough!” Steven grabs her hand and pulls her off into the living room. “Pearl! You’ve got to teach Connie sword fighting!”

Peridot snorts. “You’re kidding right? You don’t even have swords.”

“Peridot. Get us swords.” Steven says without even looking at Peridot.

Peridot sputters. “I’m reporting this!” 

“Get them swords!” He stomps his foot, briefly glaring at Peridot. “They need them! I only have one!”

“You have one?” Pearl and Peridot ask simultaneously.

“I should.” Steven looks over at Lion, who had just ambled into the room. He walks to Lion and reaches into his mane, pulling out the large pink sword. “See!”

Peridot stumbles backward, falling over onto her butt.

“But-I-wha-no-huh-wait-what!?!?” Pearl grabs her head, staring at the sword with very wide eyes, and her mouth hanging open.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself…” Peridot mutters, getting back to her feet.

“THAT’S ROSE’S SWORD!” Pearl dashes over, and snatches it from Steven, running her fingers across the flat of the blade. “It’s… It’s Rose’s sword…” Tears well up in her eyes, and she gently hugs the sword to her chest. “It’s Rose’s. And… It… Was… in Lion’s mane?” She sighs. “Does… Lion have something to do with Rose? She…” Pearl shakes herself. “Ah, nevermind. It’s… It’s not important right now.” She chuckles nervously, gripping the sword tightly. “I… I’d be glad to teach Connie swordfighting. She is currently living in the Underslums, and if they’re anything like they used to be, it is nowhere near safe down there.” Her hands shaking, she pushes the sword back towards Steven. “But, yes, we would need swords to do so. I assume that’s within your capabilities, Peridot?”

“You… You’re just a pe- you- you can’t boss me-” Peridot stammers. She scowls and marches over to Lion. “I’m am searching his mane for any other contraband!” She pushes her hand against his head and gets a hearty growl from Lion for her troubles. “AAAA!” She stumbles backward, falling over again. She crosses her arms. “Fine. I’ll get swords. BUT I AM REPORTING THIS. ALL OF IT.” She points at Pearl. “You’re dangerously defective.” She points at Lion. “You don’t make any sense and probably have all sorts of contraband in you. And you!” She points to Connie. “Are a human who associates with the Pink Traitor and had the nerve to stowaway on a gem ship! YOU ARE ALL BREAKING SO MANY LAWS.” She storms out of the room muttering about _‘stupid swords’_ and _‘reporting this’_ … 

Within the hour they’re at the same area Yellow Diamond took Steven to train a few days prior. 

“It’s not an ideal place, but we can’t exactly use the arena.” Pearl looks around, holding both of the swords Peridot acquired under the pretenses of Steven learning how to use them. “This is what’s known as Shard Peak. Many, many millennia ago this was the site of a battle in the first gem civil war.”

“The… first one?” Peridot interjects, sounding both confused and irritated. “We’ve only had the one, and it was because of the betrayal of Pink Diamond.”

Pearl blinks several times, before breaking down laughing. “Oh, oh dear. Are they really saying that there’s only ever been one?” 

“…Even information about the war with Pink Diamond is restricted.”

Pearl blinks several times, and shakes her head. “That’s because they don’t want it to happen again. A lot of gems supported her when she rebelled, including many who were stuck on Homeworld. But… I don’t quite understand why they would hide information about the first two civil wars. The rebels lost in both.”

“I’m not quite sure I believe that there ever _was_ other civil wars.” Peridot sneers.

Pearl hands one of the swords to Connie. “I don’t really care if you believe me Peridot. Giving you a history lesson on your own culture isn’t why we’re here.” She turns to Connie. “Well, as I was saying, many, many millennia ago this was the site of a battle in the first gem civil war. Countless gems were shattered here, and their myriad shards are still ingrained all over the mountain even today. This was a place for fighting then, and it will be a place for training now.” She turns her back to Connie, holding her sword with a wistful little smile. “In my time on Earth I learned of the concept of being a Knight, completely dedicated to a person and a cause.” She takes a deep breath, and turns back towards Connie. “This is what you must become, Connie; brave, selfless, loyal... a knight!” She grins at Connie, her eyes shining. “First we begin with a bow. First to, me, your teacher.” Pearl bows to Connie, and hesitantly, Connie bows back. “Then to your liege.” Pearl gestures to Steven, who blinks in surprise. 

“I’m her… liege?” He tilts his head to the side. “Since when?”

“She came here for you, didn’t she?” Lapis elbows Steven in the shoulder and laughs. “I’d say that makes you her ‘liege’.”

Connie shrugs, and turns and bows to Steven, managing to barely stifle a giggle. “My _liege._ ”

“Okay Connie.” Pearl steps back, and summons Holo-Pearl. Steven instinctively flinches back, half-hiding behind Lapis. “Now, we’re ready to begin.” 

“Level 0, beginner, set. Do you wish to engage in combat?” Holo-Pearl speaks in a robotic voice, and Steven squeaks, his bubble appearing around him and Lapis. 

Lapis knocks on it. “Uh, Steven?”

“Oh. Oh. Oh. Sorry, sorry. Instinct.” The bubble drops, and Steven watches nervously from behind Lapis.

“Alright… Everything begins with your stance.” She sighs, carefully guiding Connie’s movements. “Not only are you learning this to protect yourself Connie, you’re learning it to protect Steven…”

The longer the training goes on, the more unsettled Steven feels. Sure, it was his idea to have Pearl teach Connie, but it didn’t stop there. Pearl also started teaching her to do all this crazy and dangerous stuff for Steven’s sake, and it was making him feel very uncomfortable. 

Just after they get back from a training session, and Pearl and Lapis are already in the sitting room, Steven stops in the kitchen, Peridot lingering with him, with a smirk on her face. 

“What are you smirking about…?” Steven murmurs, looking through his cabinet. “Nothing funny is going on.” He frowns, grabbing a bag of chips. 

“Oh, I just thinks it’s interesting that your human friend is being trained to be like a pearl. Well, ish.” She snickers.

“Uh… what’dya mean? Sure, Pearl is training her but…?”

“Well, that pearl of yours is essentially turning the human girl into a suicidal warrior.” She chuckles. “Which, while fine for a gem, since we can regenerate, isn’t any good for a human.” She grins. “I’m not surprised though. Just reading about your pearl’s history explains it all. She was _fanatical_ in the war, apparently. I mean, just in the descriptions of the early sky arena fights she’s described as poofing _at least_ three dozen times, and coming back before the battle is even over, just to fight some more. It is… admittedly impressive, but passing those behaviors off to a fragile human is _ridiculous_. If… amusing.”

Steven squeaks and sinks to the floor. “Nonononononono!” He groans, resting his chin on his knees. “This is BAD. Connie. CAN’T. REGENERATE. Crapcrapcrap. I can’t let Connie risk her life for me… She’s already doing that JUST BY BEING HERE!” He grabs Peridot’s arms and pulls her to the floor with him, forcing her down on one knee. “Connie’s already risking her life for me _just by being here_! It’s why I wanted to have Pearl teach Connie swordfighting in the first place!” Tears well up in his eyes. “A-and now she’s teaching Connie to _risk her life_ for me! That’s not _okay!_ ”

Peridot blinks at him. “I… I was not expecting a reaction like this Steven. Is… Is it truly this… troubling of a thing to you?”

“Yes! It is! Dot, Connie is one of my best friends!”

Peridot pauses for a moment, sitting down next to Steven completely, and gently patting his back. “I… I wish I could help, Steven… But there’s not really much to do here. Though, I admit to not quite understanding the issue. She… is just a human.”

“Humans… humans are great, Dot. I know gems don’t really think much of them because you guys all live like _a lot_ longer than them. But humans are smart, kind, innovative, brave, creative, and can do almost anything if they set their mind to it! Sure, their lives may be shorter, but they can accomplish so _much_ in a lifetime. So… don’t just brush Connie aside because she’s a human. She’s great!” He sniffles. “A-and Pearl is going to get her killed!” 

“I… Perhaps… You should… Attempt to speak with them? The next time your friend shows up?”

“I… wouldn’t even know where to start… but I have to do SOMETHING. I can’t just let this go on… next time Connie comes for training, can you and Lapis stay behind? I want to talk to them alone.”

“You don’t know how to work the train and the pearl isn’t authorized.”

“Lion can just take us out there. _Please_ , Dot. I _need_ to talk to them. Alone.”

Peridot frowns, looking conflicted. “I- uh... Fine.” She glares at the floor. “But you are going to get me in big trouble one of these days Steven.”

It was two days later, just as scheduled, that Connie turned up on Lion, her sword hanging in a scabbard at her waist, her hands and wrists covered in bandages from various injuries acquired whilst training. “Hey Steven!” She hops off Lion. 

“Hey, Connie…” Steven kicks awkwardly at the ground. “You might as well get back on Lion, we’re taking him instead of the train today.”

“Oh? Why? Wouldn’t the train just be easier? Did something happen? Steven?”

“Oh, no, no. Nothing happened, Peridot just isn’t coming along this time, and we would need her to steer the train.”

Pearl walks over, her arms crossed. “I don’t understand why she’s suddenly refused to come along. Before she was trying to micromanage your life, Steven.” She shrugs. “Oh well, honestly, I’d rather it be just us. Lapis is… unhelpful, and Peridot is…” She clears her throat. “Well! We have important training to do, so we really should get going.” They all climb aboard Lion, and he takes them to Shard Peak. 

Steven sits down off to the side, steeling himself to talk to the swordfighting pair after training is over, when he catches some of what they’re saying, since it’s a lot harder to block it out when Lapis and Peridot aren’t here to talk to.

“Remember, Connie. In the heat of battle, Steven is what matters. You don't matter.”

“I don't matter.”

Steven jolts to his feet, just as Pearl summons a fog over the area. “CONNIE!

A holo-pearl comes down upon him, and he backs away from it slowly. “Uh, you wouldn’t have seen Connie anywhere, would’ve you?”

The holo-pearl raises its sword and its eyes turn red. “Unregistered combatant detected!” 

A sword slices through it from behind and Connie skids up next to Steven. “Steven! What are you doing here! You’re supposed to be watching out of the way! It’s not safe for you!”

“Connie! You’re not the only one who’s being trained!” He summons his shield, spinning around Connie to quickly block the strike of a holo-pearl. “I don’t want you do this anymore- at least not like this! This isn’t right! I don’t want you to do all this dangerous stuff for me! I just wanted you to be able to defend yourself!”

Connie smiles, and shakes her head, darting around him to take down another holo-pearl. “No, Steven. I understand now! Your legacy, your destiny, you are _everything_! And I...I am _nothing_. But I can do this for you! I can give you my service!”

“No! No! Connie! I don’t want that!” He throws up his bubble to stop a pair of holo-pearls coming at them at once. “If anything, I’d want us to fight together!” He drops his bubble. “Please, Connie!”

“Steven! I’m-” She swings, cutting a holo-pearl in half, and it quickly dissipates. “doing this for you!” She takes a deep breath. “Bad things are coming, and I need to be able to protect you!”

“If bad things things are coming, and you’re protecting me, who’ll be protecting you!” He throws his shield, knocking back several approaching holo-pearls. “I want to fight alongside you Connie. If bad things are coming, we should face them together.” He holds out his hand to his best friend. “Please, Connie.” 

After a moment’s hesitation, she nods, and grabs his hand. Together the two of them take out four more holo-pearls. 

“Oh, yeah this is _much_ easier.” Connie grins at Steven and he nods. 

“That’s the idea! No matter what comes, we do this together!”

 _“STEVEN!”_ The fog dissipates instantly. _“What are you doing!”_ Pearl sprints over. “Steven, you shouldn’t interfere. She needs to take me on herself.”

“Any battle she’s in, I want to help, Pearl!”

“Yeah! Steven and I are going to fight together!”

Connie dashes over, and briefly crosses swords with Pearl, but when Pearl swings to attack, Steven’s shield is in her way. 

They both try to come at Pearl again, but she disarms both of them- Steven’s shield dissipating as it hits the ground. “THAT IS ENOUGH!” She takes deep breath. “No! No! In a real battle Steven won’t be there to save you!”

“Yes! Pearl! I will! Any time I can!”

“You shouldn't be anywhere near the fight! You're too important!” She screeches, pulling on her hair. 

“NO! I’m not! Pearl I don’t care who I am! If the people I care about are in danger I want to fight with them!” Steven stomps his foot. “And _besides_ **nothing** can break my shield, remember?”

“You’re just too important, Steven!” 

“NO!”

_“WHY WON'T YOU JUST LET ME DO THIS FOR YOU, ROSE!?”_

“My name is Steven…” He mutters instinctively, before it hits him what actually just happened, and his eyes widen.

It’s silent for a moment, and Pearl’s sword slips out of her hand, clattering to the ground. “I...I mean...let her...do this. Why won't you let Connie do this...for you.” She turns her back on Steven and Connie. “That’s… That’s enough for today.”

She walks a few feet away and sinks to the ground. Steven blinks slowly, sharing a concerned glance with Connie. 

They walk over slowly and they sit down on each side of Pearl. 

“Pearl…” Steven murmurs. “I… I didn’t mean to mess up your training, but I was just getting really freaked out by all that ‘you’re nothing’ talk, and Peridot told me about the way you fought in the war, and it really scared me. I… asked them to stay behind so I could talk to you two…”

“Oh… Steven…” She sighs, tears welling up in her eyes. 

“Did… Did Rose make you feel like you were nothing?”

She laughs weakly. “Rose… Rose made me feel like I was _everything._ ”

“Then… Why were you acting like you are nothing?” Steven twists his fingers together. “There’s been a lot going on that I don’t understand, and some of it has to do with you Pearl.”

She sobs, tears spilling over, and streaking down her face. “Rose made me feel like I was more than I am. Coming back to Homeworld has made that very clear to me.”

“Pearl. What are you talking about?” Steven leans into her side. “Pearl, you’re great, and you’re really, really important to me. Why… why do you think you’re nothing?”

She sniffles, weakly rubbing at her eyes. She laughs weakly. “You’ve been here for _months_. It’s a miracle you haven’t figured it out already.”

“Oh.” Connie murmurs, clapping her hands over her mouth, a horrified expression on her face.

“Figured out _what_ , Pearl? What haven’t I figured out?” Steven cries, pulling on Pearl’s arm. “Please, Pearl, you have to tell me! I don’t know. I don’t know _anything_ about homeworld.” Tears well up in his eyes. “I know something’s been wrong this whole time! Peridot’s been weird! You’ve been weird! Even LAPIS has been weird and tense about something with you! I just want to know what’s _wrong_ Pearl! I just want to help! Please let _me_ do this for _you._ ”

“Steven… There’s no helping this. I’m… I’m _less_ than nothing. I’m a _broken_ nothing.” Her voice sounds so defeated, which just spurs Steven to try and help Pearl more.

“PEARL! You have to tell me what’s wrong.” Steven gently hugs her from the side. 

“Steven… I’m just a pearl. I’m… I’m a made to order servant that’s nothing more that a status symbol for the upperclass. I’m _nothing_. I’m… I’m _less_ than nothing, since I’m a defective one at that. I’m… I’m just...” She breaks down outright, and Connie hugs her from the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It's just a mirror of the episode of the same title. But it's important.


	14. Chapter 13: The Servant Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven has his eyes opened about the darker aspects of Homeworld.

### Chapter 13

#### The Servant Class

“Just… Just a pearl? I… I don’t understand. Pearl, look at me.” Steven moves around to be in front of Pearl, gently grabbing her shoulders, and trying to meet her teary downcast eyes. “I’m not going to pretend that I know what you’re talking about, but you’re not  _ ‘just’ _ anything!”

“Steven,” She sniffles, gently removing Steven’s hands from her shoulders and rising to her feet. “There’s a great many things about homeworld you don’t know yet… Maybe… Maybe we should go back to our housing…” She weakly wipes at her eyes, turning her back on Steven. 

Steven springs to his feet, and darts around to be in front of her again.“Pearl! I want you explain,  _ please _ !” He grabs her hands gently, trying to be steady for Pearl, but feeling very overwhelmed by all of this.  _ What is even going on?!  _

Pearl lets out a shaky breath, gently squeezing his hands in a way Steven  _ thinks _ is supposed be reassuring, but really just makes it very clear to him how badly her hands are shaking. “Steven. I promise I’ll tell you.” She laughs humorlessly. “It’s honestly a miracle that you don’t already know.” She pulls her hands away and runs them through her hair. “Just… please can we talk about this back at our housing? I-I don’t really want to get into it here.”

“Well…” Steven looks away, tears welling up in his eyes. “Okay, but you’re explaining as soon as we get back Pearl. There’s way too much I don’t know, and it’s really starting to bother me. And… whatever exactly this is- it’s hurting you Pearl, and that’s not okay.” Steven waves Lion over, and after a moment of lazily rising from a nearby rock the big pink beast ambles over. “Take us back to my housing Lion, please.”

Lion blinks, then lays down, waiting for the three of them to climb on his back. They do, and Lion takes them through a portal, straight into the living room- Peridot barely avoiding a collision with Lion by quickly flying above them with her helicopter fingers. 

Peridots lands quietly behind them just as Pearl and Steven dismount. “Did… did your training today go… well?” She titters awkwardly, her fingers woven together. 

“Uh, I’m just gonna go Steven.” Connie gently scratches Lion’s ears, a fake grimace-like smile plastered on her face. “Good luck with your talk. Go Lion.” And with the creation of another portal, Lion and Connie are gone.

“Bye Connie…” Steven mutters, fidgeting slightly, his gaze directed at the floor. “It went… well-ish.” Steven grimaces, fidgeting and pulling down on his shirt. “There’s still talking to do.” He turns, looking up at the teary-eyed Pearl, shrunk in on herself, and staring off to the side.

She slowly looks at Steven, and nods, sinking to the floor with a sigh. “I know you have a lot of questions Steven.” Her voice is small and shaky, and she’s breathing rather quickly, betraying the tears she is desperately trying to hold back. 

“Yeah, I do. What… What do you mean by saying that you’re a ‘made to order servant’?” Steven sinks to his knees in front of Pearl, reaching out and pulling her arms away from her, taking her shaking hands into his own. “And…  _ ‘defective’ _ ?”

Pearl sobs softly for a few minutes before she answers, everyone else watching in complete silence, waiting to see what she says. “I’m… I’m sorry I never told you any of this sooner. Please,  _ please, _ understand that I was trying to protect you…” She squeezes his hands tightly, a fresh wave of tears spilling out of her eyes. “I… I’m just a pearl, Steven. Th-There are  _ hundreds _ of pearls. I was made to be a status symbol and a near mindless servant. Technically… You  _ own  _ me, Steven.” She takes several rapid, shallow breaths, and her entire body is shaking slightly. It all just makes Steven want to hug her, but he just keeps a hold of her hands. “You’ve probably seen a lot of pearls already, and just didn’t realize it.” She chokes back another sob, and hunches over her shoulders shaking. “A-And… I’m defective because I’m  _ not _ near mindless. And I never took orders well enough for my makers’ liking.”

“But… Isn’t being able to think a good thing? Why would that make you broken? That’s stupid.” He finally pulls Pearl into a tight hug. “I don’t care what you were  _ made _ for, Pearl. You’re awesome. And I don’t own you. I don’t care what anyone else says, owning a person doesn’t make sense.” Pearl starts sobbing even harder into Steven’s shoulder. “Honestly, the idea of making gems to just be a servant is stupid.”

“ … All gems have one purpose, Steven.” Peridot says slowly, sinking to the floor next to him. “I was made as a technician, and Lazuli was made to transport large amounts of water for kindergartens and colonies.”

Pearl pulls back, tears still streaming down her face, and nods. “Peridot is right. Every single gem is made with a purpose in mind.” She sniffles. “That’s how it’s always worked on Homeworld, or at least as far as I know.”

“Yeah, Steven, it’s just the natural order of things. Every gem has one job, and they always will do that one job. It’s just how things work.” Lapis finally speaks up from her spot on the couch.

Steven shakes his head. “No. That doesn’t make any sense. That makes it sound like gems don’t have freedom to do different things- which sounds awful and… and…” Steven looks between the three gems, all looking some level of grim- with Pearl despairing, Peridot seeming mildly troubled, Lapis somewhere in between. “Oh. They… they don’t have any freedom, do they?” His brows draw together and he stares at the floor. He puts his face in his hands and groans.

“Well, no, they don’t…” Peridot frowns, half reaching for Steven, before pulling back away, biting her lip. “You do what your Diamond tells you, which is  _ usually _ what you were made for, but, I mean, it’s not  _ that _ bad!” She smiles in a very forced looking way, and lets out a high pitched laugh. “Gems are made for these positions, so nothing could be a better job!”

Pearl scoffs, still crying, but clearly irritated at Peridot. “Being made for something doesn’t automatically make it the best job for you.”

“You’re a defect! You don’t count!” Peridot snaps, her face flushing, then turns her awkward smile towards Steven again. “As I was saying. Gems are put into a position ideally suited for them, so they have no reason to  _ want _ to do anything else.” She clasps her fingers together under her chin, the forced smile still on her face, and her eyes darting between Lapis, Steven, and Pearl.

Steven frowns, his eyes narrowed. He sighs slightly. “But… they idea of creating a gem explicitly to be a servant…” He glances at Pearl, who tearfully smiles at him. “It’s wrong. It’s so  _ beyond _ wrong. You can’t… You can’t just create a person to serve you. It’s cruel!”

Peridot raises her eyebrows, almost looking amused. “They don’t usually think much, Steven.” She shrugs. “Your pearl is weird. You’re making a big deal out of  _ nothing _ . ”

“The fact that they  _ could _ be freethinking but  _ aren’t _ MAKES IT WORSE!” Steven jumps to his feet, his fists clenched tightly. “IT’S NOT RIGHT PERIDOT!” He kicks the nearby coffee table, and Peridot flinches back, her eyes very wide. 

“Y-you are DEFINITELY overreacting, Steven! I-I mean, pearls have it easy, much much better than the rest of the servant class! They’re the lowest of the low, but they get the cushiest of jobs! They live on higher levels, or work in galaxy warps! They’re lucky! Y-you don’t need to get  _ angry  _ about it!” Peridot stands up, and backs slowly away from Steven, gently bumping into the wall before she stops. 

“What did you just…” Steven takes a step towards Peridot, his eyebrows drawn together, and his fists shaking. “ _ Did you just say the  _ **_rest of the servant class_ ** ?” His voice is dangerously low, with a tone to it that is so cold it almost doesn’t sound like Steven’s voice. 

“N-no!” Peridot looks away from him, chuckling nervously. “There’s no such thing as the servant class…” She squeaks, shrinking in on herself, her eyes very wide. 

Steven roars, kicking the coffee table again, knocking it over. “SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT SHE MEANS!” 

To Steven’s surprise, Lapis is the one who speaks up, her tone coloured with trepidation, but her head lifted and eyes steely. “Pearls are only  _ part _ of the servant class.” She takes a deep breath, crossing her arms. “The servant class, with the exception of pearls, all work in the underslums, or on level one, if they’re lucky. They live in the worst, most dangerous conditions, and they do the most difficult and dangerous work.  _ Any _ gem can become part of the servant class, if they tick off any of the higher ranking gems enough, but the Diamonds, especially.”

“Wait, I thought no one lived in the underslums.” Steven shakes his head. “I… thought they were decreed too dangerous, so everyone was brought into the floating city?” He tilts his head to the side, his brow furrowed.  

Lapis slowly shakes her head no, and with a gasp Steven collapses to his knees, the sheer horror of all of this overwhelming him. Pearl’s thin arms loop around him in a hug from behind as he bursts into tears. “I’m so sorry Steven…” Pearl murmurs in his ears, his body shaking with sobs. “I… I wanted to protect you from this. All of this. Homeworld… isn’t a utopia, no matter what the Diamonds tell you.”

Sniffling and wiping at his runny nose, Steven twists around to face Pearl, tears streaking down his face. “Pearl, I-I-I don’t  _ want _ to be protected anymore. I think it’s  _ way _ too late for that.” He sighs. “So, Pearl,  _ please _ tell me if you have any  _ other _ secrets you’re protecting me from. I deserve that much, don’t I?” His voice cracks, and he leans into her, sobbing quietly.

Pearl strokes his hair for a few minutes before she says anything. “Oh… Steven… I…” She exhales slowly through her teeth. “I do have another, just off the top of my head.” She lets out a single sob. “I-I’m being forced to continue to  _ constantly _ convince the Diamonds that I’m  _ barely _ defective, otherwise I’ll be executed for certain, j-just like the other Crystal Gems will be if we can’t rescue them in time.” She sniffles, and Steven jerks away from her, his eyes going very wide.

“Th-that’s why y-you act so stiffly around anyone else!” He springs to his feet, shaking his head rapidly. “Nonononononono!” He covers his mouth with his hands, still shaking his head. “This is  _ wrong _ . Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.” He sobs into his hands. “It’s not right!”

“Steven, I’m okay. I’ll be fine. I can do it, a-and we’ll save the o-”

“YOU CAN’T KNOW THAT!” He screams, stumbling backward down the hall. “You can’t know that Pearl! Even if you survive, you’d… you’d have to live like that forever a-and the others are g-going to die!”

“Nice going, Pearl. Telling him that one.” Lapis grumbles, crossing her arms.

Pearl seems to be ignoring her as she takes a step towards Steven, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “ _ Steven _ .” Pearl squeaks his name, holding her hand out to him. “Please. I… Do you think I haven’t already realized that, but… there’s n-no point to reacting like this.”

“NO! YOU CAN’T JUST ACCEPT THAT PEARL!” Steven screams, taking another step back towards the door. “YOU CAN’T!” Sobs rip through him and he turns and bolts out the door. Pearl tries to follow him, but can’t step on the elevator platform without an escort, as if there was an invisible wall there for her. She presses her hands against it, begging Steven to stop as the platform goes down.

He’s doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he has to do  _ something _ . Getting outside his building, Steven runs and looks down off the edge of the level, waaaaay down to the barely visible greyish underslums way below.  Steven takes a slow, deep breath, and summons his bubble, before stepping off the edge, to the grey wasteland below.  _ He has to see this for himself _ . 


	15. Chapter 14: The Dissidents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven meets some gems the Diamond's would rather he not in the underslums.

### Chapter 14

#### The Dissidents

The normally quiet wastes of the lower city are suddenly and violently revitalized when Steven’s bubble _crashes_ into the stone down in the underslums, leaving an impact crater. Steven, in a daze, dismisses his bubble and takes in the cold, dark, dusty, grey surroundings. “Woah. A-am I-I even o-on the same planet?” He stammers. looking around.

He wanders around for a little while, seeing a few gems- bright blips of colour in the otherwise bleak colourless landscape- but all of them look tired and miserable, trudging along and seeming to be completely ignoring one another.

After almost an hour of aimless wandering, Steven leans against a large rock and sinks to the ground in tears. “Oh, this is all terrible! I-I have to do something about all of this…” He pulls his knees up to his chest, fighting back tears. “What am I gonna do… I don’t even think I was supposed to know about this…”

“Ohmystars! Pink Diamond!” A peachy-pink gem a little shorter than Pearl with pigtails, and a poofy skirt beams down at Steven. She bounces on her toes, clapping her hands together excitedly. “You have no idea how excited I am to see you! I mean, I was almost this excited when I heard you were back on homeworld and they _weren’t_ killing you! I mean, I used to work for you back in the day- do you remember me? I always hoped you would remember me! I know we weren’t super close, but I always liked you, and I was SO happy when you made your stand, but I was also a little sad, since I was stuck here and couldn’t help at all. But then you won and I was happy all over again because you proved that the others could BE defeated, but then I was sad again because most of your former gems on homeworld were reassigned to the underslums- White Diamond is BRUTAL-  which was terrible, but we’ve been making do- but I sure do miss the good old days! Man, it was nice back when I worked for you! Hey! Do you think maybe once you’re more established back here that you’ll take back over all your old gems? No, probably not, that’s pretty far fetched! I’m sorry for asking! I shouldn’t have asked! You know! I really like your new form! It’s so different! You’re a lot shorter! And your hair is shorter and darker and your clothes are different! WAAAAIT! Oh! I’m SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! You feel REALLY REALLY sad and confused and I _TOTALLY_ interrupted your brooding!”

“I-it’s fine, but, um, Pink Diamond was my mother. I’m Steven.” She slowly rises to his feet and holds out a hand to the pink gem.

“Oh. Uhm. Pleasure to meet you then Steven!” She grabs the offered and shakes it vigorously. “SO sorry for mistaking you for your mom, but… Wait wha?? Your mom? What crazy nonsense is this!?” She giggles, her hand in front of her mouth.

“Oh. Uhm. I’m half human, and my mom gave up her physical form to give me her gem. Also, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but who are you?” He chuckles nervously.

“Huh! Oh! Me? Me! I’m Morganite! So your mom just, like, ceased to exist when you were… created. That’s really strange, but I guess it makes sense now that the Diamonds spared you! Wait- gave up her physical form? Does that mean she still exists in you gem- oh, wait, that’s a really rude question. I mean, hey does you mom still exist inside you?! Who am I to ask a question like that- well, I mean I _used_ to be somebody, but now I’m nobody. You see, back when I worked under your mom I lived on the eighth level, but I - like lot and lots of others- was banished down here all the way to level 0- more commonly know as the underslums- by White Diamond after the war- which was like SO awful, but I’m making do, and at least I’m not in any of the negative levels! I mean, mostly only prisoners are down there.” She pauses, grinning at Steven, who just silently blinks several times before she continues. “I REALLY wasn’t expecting to see you down here! I mean I see all sorts of people down here all the time, and it was just a few weeks ago that I saw White Diamond down here, but she went into the negative levels, and apparently came back out with a pearl. A couple people said it was Pink’s pearl, who was supposed to be on earth with her, but since you’re here I guess it makes sense that she is too! I wonder how she’s doing? I haven’t spoken to her in over like 7000 years, which is CRAZY! Oh! Oh! I hope White Diamond wasn’t taking her to be executed! That would be so terrible!”

“Okay! Okay! Stop talking!” Steven cuts across her. “Okay, you seem SUPER nice, like SUPER nice, but I can tell you what happened to Pearl. She…” He sighs. “She was… she was given to me. She’s staying up on the tenth level and is… safe enough right now. I don’t think she’ll be executed. I hope she won’t be executed…” He pauses. “Wait. Did you say prisoners are in the _negative_ levels? So, like, the other Crystal Gems are probably below us?”

“The… The other Crystal Gems are here too? How’d they get an entire army down there without anyone noticing? I mean, there’s almost ALWAYS someone watching, so there’s absolutely NO WAY they managed to get an ent-”

“It’s not an entire army it’s just… uh, three gems.”

Her jaw drops, and her eyes widen, but Morganite says nothing for several minutes as she stares at Steven. “Just… Just three gems? What… No, that can't be all of the Crystal Gems. She had an entire army, and… and they fought off homeworld!” She flounders, swinging her arms around wildly. “They… there can’t be… just… three gems.”

“Well, it was four, but then Pearl was taken to me. So it should be Amethyst and… Uh, what did Pearl say their names were… Ruby and Sapphire? I’m not sure, I’ve always known them as Garnet.”

“What… what happened to the rest of armies?” She laces her fingers together, staring at Steven with wide eyes.

“I… I don’t really know. Uhm. They’ve been gone for a while.” Steven threads his fingers together, staring at the ground. I… I think they may be corrupted gems?” He shrugs. “I… I don’t know for sure.”

“A-all of them, though? That’s crazy. Like… really crazy.” She covers her mouth, her eyes wide and shining. “I…” She clears her throat. “So, uh. What are you doing down here? What’s troubling you?”

“Huh? Oh. Uhm.” Steven curls in on himself, his arms crossed and his head ducked. “I’m down here because I found out that gems _actually lived down here_. I… I thought it was abandoned.”

“You… You thought no one lived down here? Are they telling you _nothing_?” She snickers. “I mean, that doesn’t even make sense! Why would there be a whole other level of the city with no one living in it?”

“I… I was told that it was evacuated and everyone lived in the floating city because it was decreed too dangerous down here.”

Morganite starts cracking up. “Oh geeze! I’m sorry! I’m sure it’s all very serious for you, but oh my god, they are SO screwing with you!”

“Yeah. I figured.” He sniffles, staring tearfully at the ground. “I learned a lot today. All about the whole Servant Class thing and how STUPID it all is!” He angrily kicks the rock he was leaning against.  

“Wait. So… You didn’t know about _any_ of this? Like, none, at all? That’s so totally crazy! I mean, if you didn’t know about this stuff, the other Diamonds must have been like MAJORLY sheltering you, which raises the question of how you got down here in the first place. Like, the trains don’t even run all the way down here, there isn’t even a track path, and none of us are authorized for train riding anyhow, so even if we did go up to the dome of gem kind- the only place in the floating city we can get to- we can’t board a train from there since we aren’t authorized. We’d be completely blocked from the trains- which is totally n-”

“Wait, blocked? Like with an invisible wall?” Steven cuts across her, thinking of Pearl hitting that invisible wall around the elevator platform earlier. He frowns. “That’s all really, really stupid.” He sighs. “And I kinda ditched my escort and just… jumped down here. My bubble protected me from the fall…”

“Exactly like an invisible wall! So they gave you with a fulltime escort? And you just ditched her? Wow! You know, you’re probably gonna be in a lot of trouble when you go back up! And I mean A LOT of trouble. You can’t run off and do something the Diamonds don't want you doing! Not without being careful! Ononono! That is VERY bad. Oh! What if they decide you’re going traitor like your mother and execute you! Oh no! Nononono! BAD! BAD! You can’t go back! They’ll hurt you! Oh no! Oh no!”

“No! No! I’m sure it’ll be fine. Peridot’s been trying to report things like Lion, or Connie, or Pearl thinking for herself this whole time- The Diamonds are just ignoring her.” He chuckles nervously. “Besides, I… I don’t think she’d report this one anyhow. It would make her look bad”

“So… you can pretty much get up to whatever you want? And wait! Did you say Lion and Connie? Oh I LOVE those two! They’re running about down here! Connie seems really nice- but you wouldn’t BELIEVE how surprised I was to see a human down here! When I first saw Lion I thought he was a corrupted gem, but a quick read of his emotions made it clear he wasn’t. I didn’t realize they knew Pink Diamond though! I guess that’s probably why she talks to Indicolite so much!”

“WAIT! Stop! Stop! Stop! Okay, this has been driving me crazy, and I can’t ask in front of Peridot because the one time Connie offhandedly mentioned her, Peridot pointed a blaster thing at Connie- Who is Indicolite? ‘Cause, like, back on the colony I was in before me and Lapis even got to homeworld some Gem named Blue Lace said something weird and told me to ‘find Indicolite’. Then Connie mentioned Indicolite, and Peridot threatened her life! Which was totally crazy!”

Morganite blinks several times. “Uh, well. Uhm. Geeze. Everyone knows who Indicolite is. She’s the leader of the Pink Diamond Allegiance.”

Steven sighs, his shoulders sagging. “And that is? Obviously, it has something to do with my mom…”

Morganite grins from ear to ear. “You know what? Why don’t I just take you to her? She can explain it herself.”

Morganite grabs Steven’s hand, and pulls him through the underslums, ducking into alleys, under bridges, and really just taking a route that seems needlessly complicated. She stops in an alley, identical in looks to all the other ones they passed through, and leans against the left wall. After a moment the heart shaped gem on her thigh glows and a door opens in the stone. She giggles and skips in.  After a moment’s hesitation, Steven follows her.

The two spend the next few minutes weaving through a seemingly endless series of maze-like halls, a few gems stopping to watch Morganite running through the halls, Steven struggling to keep up with her. After a while she at last skids to a stop in front of a door at the end of a hall, her hands clasped together and a wide grin on her face.

“Okay! So Indicolite is through this door! She’s really stubborn, and brave, and… easily angered- but she’s great! She’s great! She’s an awesome leader!” She takes a deep breath, and pulls Steven into the room.

He barely got a look at the blue-green gem standing in the room before she was lunging at him with a spear grabbed from the wall, and the tip bursting into blue-green flames as it is immediately pointed in Steven’s face. He takes a half-step back, his eyes wide, his mouth falling open.

“Name. Purpose. And intent. NOW.” The short haired gem standing before Steven wears an eyepatch, and has a high collared shirt with a hole for her gem, a long skirt with a belt that has a Pink Diamond insignia as the buckle, and knee-high boots. She looks very gruff, and very angry, her one visible eye narrowed at Steven.

“I-I-I.” He stutters. “I’m Steven Universe. I… suddenly realize what you mean by purpose, but I don’t really know.” He glances at Morganite. “Does my gem even have a purpose?” He shakes his head, and shrugs. “Oh, whatever. My intent is to… uh, find out what the Pink Diamond Allegiance even _is_?”

Her eye widens, and she pulls back a bit, looking puzzled. Morganite interjects quickly, attempting to diffuse the situation. “H-he’s Pink Diamond! Or… Pink Diamond’s son! He’s Half-Human, which I know sounds totally ridiculous, but I got no feelings of deception, so either he’s the best liar in the entire universe, or he’s telling the truth!”

The blue-green gem closes her eye, and nods slowly, the flames on her spear vanishing. In silence she returns the spear to it’s mount on the wall, before turning her steely one eyed glare on Morganite.

“ _What_ were you _thinking_ bringing someone back here without clearing it with me first! I don’t _care_ if you were sure he was being honest- you still shouldn’t have brought him back here!”

“I-I’m sorry, Ma’am! But he had to ditch an escort to even get down here. I-I didn’t think there would even be another opportunity, a-and Blue Lace actually told him to find you! And he’s friends with the human girl and the Lion. I’m SO super SORRY! I Just didn’t think there would be another chance! You know, because of the aforementioned escort! Who is apparently loyalist enough that she threatened Connie’s life at just a mention of your name!”

The one-eyed gem sighs, turning away from Morganite. “I already _knew_ that Morganite. I have been in frequent contact with Connie. Now that I know who he is, I know what is going on, though it’s interesting to see him here. The last I heard he was foolishly buying into the Diamond Council’s rhetoric.” She crosses her arms behind her back.

“I… I know, I was. It seems stupid now.” Steven slowly sinks to the floor onto his knees. “But some of it was just explained to me. I… I can see now why my mom would rebel.” His voice cracks, and he fights back tears.

The gem sits down cross-legged in front of Steven. “I feel as though we have started off on the wrong foot here. Hello, Steven. I’m Indicolite.” Steven looks up at her, blinking away his tears. “I know things must be very confusing to you right now, so this probably seems like a lot. Please, feel free to ask me any questions you may have, and I will answer them to the best of my ability.”

Steven nods slowly, still fighting back tears. “What… What is the Pink Diamond Allegiance?”

“We… we’re what’s left of your mother's supporters that couldn’t be a part of the Crystal Gems. For the most part we act in total secrecy, always _trying_ to find a way to change our world, but, sadly, we don’t really have to power to do anything…”

“Secrecy? You… You’re wearing a pink diamond.” Steven tilts his head to the side.

Indicolite laughs. “Oh, well, I said for the most part. **_I_ ** make no such attempts. I believe in the overcity they call me the Pink Traitor?” She snickers again. “Basically I make myself known to keep them on edge about there still being a resistance. You would think that it would make them more cautious, but really it just makes Yellow Diamond paranoid and a bit reckless. Which makes her just that much easier to work around.”

Steven blinks several times. “Yellow Diamond is training me to fight and stuff.”

Indicolite is silent for a moment, before breaking down laughing. “Well, that seems foolish. Training someone who, for all they know, could become an enemy is an inherently stupid decision.”

“I… I think I probably will become their enemy. I… I can’t condone this whole ‘servant class’ stuff. It’s stupid.” He crosses his arms, glaring off at a random point on the wall.

“Oh. Oh, no. I mean, glad to have your support, but… I… I don’t really have the kind of forces to wage war against them. We would need Pink Diamond’s armies for that, so unless you can call them here-” Morganite starts rapidly shaking her head, tears welling up in her eyes. Indicolite sighs. “What is it Morgan?”

“Th-the armies are gone, apparently.”

Indicolite jolts to her feet. “WHAT!? How!? She had armies’ of THOUSANDS back on Earth! What! How can they all be gone!? How do you know this!?”

Morganite silently points to Steven, who’s risen to his feet. “It’s true.” He mutters. “There are only… four gems from it left. Three of them are prisoners right now.” Steven’s tears spill over, and he covers his face with his hands.

Indicolite sucks in a sharp breath. “Four gems. An entire army reduced to four gems.” She closes her eyes slowly. “Who are they? And which one of them is _not_ a prisoner?”

“Uh. Amethyst. Also Ruby and Sapphire, I think. I’ve always known them as Garnet. And Pearl. Pearl isn’t a prisoner, and was…” He groans. “Given to me.”

“Garnet? And Pearl? Them, I know. I can’t say I know this Amethyst. Was she made in the Kindergarten? I can only assume so.”

“I… I don’t know. I’ll ask Pearl later…”  Steven kicks awkwardly at the ground.

Indicolite puts her face in her hands. “Okay. Okay. Well, Steven. Without more numbers… well, then, there’s nothing I can do. Maybe… Maybe you can pretend to go along with them for a while longer, and… try to make more peaceful change in the government?” She sighs.

“I… I don’t really know anything about this government stuff, though. I don’t know if I can change things that way…” He wrings his hands, staring at the ground. “I want to help, but I don’t know if I can.”

She sighs and returns to sitting cross-legged in the center of the floor. “Maybe you should head back up. Even someone as apparently lax as Peridot would only wait _so_ long before reporting your absence. I’ll see what I can do about speaking further with you later…” She leans on her hands. “Morganite, show him to the platform. An autotrain from the dome should be leaving soon, so he should be able to get back up without notice.”

Morganite nods and starts to walk out of the room, but Steven stops her.

“Wait! Wait.” He points at Indicolite. “I’ve been meaning to ask something. Why are you wearing an eyepatch? I thought gems can’t be hurt permanently like that.”

Indicolite looks up. “Huh? Oh. Well, no, not normally. My… My gem is scratched, and while it doesn’t affect my day to day activities, it unfortunately made one of my eyes non-functioning.” She points towards her gem, indicating the very light scratch etched across its surface.

Steven brings his hand to his mouth. “I can fix that!”

She sucks in a sharp breath. “Of course! You have your mother’s healing powers!”

Steven walks over licking his fingers. “Just a sec.” He gestures for her to lean down and smears the spit on her gem, and, after a moment, the gem glows and in an iridescent flash the small scratch is gone.

Indicolite grins. “Thank you, Steven! Though you _really_ should get going if you want to catch your train. Morganite, please.”

Morganite nods with wide eyes, and leaves, motioning for Steven to follow her. With one last glance and a smile at Indicolite, he does.

Slowly and silently, Steven and Morganite weave through the underslums once again, reaching the only nice thing Steven has seen in his entire time down here. A circular platform, resembling a warp pad, but made with black crystal and with four crystalline pillars, one of each of the diamond colours, surrounding it.

“Did they recently replace the pink one?” Steven asks quietly before stepping up to it.

“No, no. They never removed it. We wouldn’t let ‘em. The funny thing about banishing most of her old gems to the underslums means you put most of her supporters on homeworld all in the same place. Every time they _tried_ to have it removed, we gave ‘em a bad day.” She chuckles. “Now, you really ought to get back up, or you’ll miss the autotrain and be stuck there at the dome for another hour.”

Steven steps up on the platform, and activating it like he would a warp pad. A stream of light pushes him up and through the floor of the dome of gem kind. “See you later!” Morganite shouts after him as he’s pushed up. After ascending and getting his bearings, Steven looks around the platform, seeing the empty train car. He smiles slightly, and darts onto it. In just a few moments the train doors close and it stops across several levels, a few gems getting on and off- in a surprising change of pace, not even paying attention to Steven, but eventually it gets to the tenth level and Steven gets off, looking around to try and find his housing. Before he can even take another step away from the train path he is stopped cold as Pearl’s arms suddenly wrap around him.

“Steven! Oh thank heavens you’re alright!” She laces her fingers through his hair, hugging him tighter. “Peridot saw you go over the edge, and I know she said you were in your bubble, but I was so worried! Where did you go!? Why!? Steven, you could have gotten into a lot of trouble! Peridot and Lapis are out searching the other levels for you!”

“I… I was in the underslums. I had to see it for myself.” He sighs, leaning into Pearl. “I’m sorry I worried you, but I’m glad I did. I… I finally found Indicolite.”

Pearl jerks back, her eyes wide. “Indicolite is still alive? I assumed they would have caught and executed her by now! She was declared a criminal and a traitor way back during the war for supporting your mother, and she was trapped on Homeworld! How… How is she alive? How did you find her? What do you mean by ‘finally’?”

“Oh. Uh, well, this gem named Morganite showed me to this hidden base down there-”

“Morganite is still alive too? Huh. Well that’s good to hear…” She pauses, blinking slowly. “Uh, sorry, go on.”

“I don’t know how she’s alive, but I’d guess it’s something to do with the whole secret base thing. And. Uhm, there was a gem in the colony that Lapis and I landed on who told me to find Indicolite.” He looks around the street. “Pearl, can we go back to our housing? I don’t want to talk about this stuff on the street.”

Pearl looks around the mostly empty area, and nods. “Okay, Steven. This is a … sensitive topic, and while there aren’t many gems here right now, anyone could overhear…” Pearl guides them back to their housing in silence, neither of them saying another word until they’re through the door.

As soon as they’re inside, Steven finally bursts from waiting. “Indicolite is heading a resistance ground called the Pink Diamond Allegiance!” Steven blurts out, leaning against the door, and Pearl nods.

“Blue Lace mentioned the group… It does make sense for Indicolite to run it…”

“Wait! You met Blue Lace too? She was the one who told me to find Indicolite!”

“She was on the mission sent to capture us. She’s probably the entire reason we weren’t shattered by Jasper then and there…” Pearl sighs.

“Well. Uhm. She runs this resistance group, but apparently their numbers here on Homeworld are really small, so she can’t do anything meaningful. She…” Steven sniffles, sinking to the floor. “She was actually hoping that I had some way of calling Mom’s armies from earth, but…”

“But they’re gone.” Pearl’s voice cracks and she falls to her knees. “Most of us were shattered or corrupted over the years.”

“I… I told her that. She seemed really upset. I think that was really the only hope she had- but… This world can’t just continue to be like this! It’s crazy!” Steven breaks down into tears. “It’s wrong! And I feel so helpless! How can Mom have EVER been a part of this!?”

A few tears streak down Pearl’s cheeks, and she’s silent for a moment. “Your mother… She was always better than the other three, but she wasn’t always perfect. She did very little to stop the slavery and abuse in the system, even though she was _much_ kinder to those gems who were fortunate enough to work under her. It… It was Earth and humans that made her realize the errors of her ways and the problems with the entire system.” She sniffles. “It was, to begin with, an ordinary kindergarten and colony set up. But right away your mother admired the fauna of earth- most of the planets didn’t have much in the way of fauna, though they did usually have flora…” She wipes at her eyes before continuing. “But she was especially fascinated by humans and their intelligence. She realized that if gem production in the Kindergarten continued, that life… that humans wouldn’t survive on earth. It would have made the planet unlivable for them, just in the name of continuing to advance and enlarge an already massive empire… I shudder to imagine how many colonies there are _now_.” Steven is staring at her, his eyes wide, and is leaning toward her slightly. She manages a slight smile. “Well. Initially your mother tried negotiating with the other Diamonds to protect the Earth and change their policies so as to not colonize planets with sentient life, but the other three… disagreed with her, and so she split from them, changing her name and declaring that she would fight to protect the Earth, and many gems, including myself and Garnet, stood with her.” Pearl lets out a slow breath. “And then… the war started.”

Steven bites his lip. “Wow. Uhm. That’s not even close to the version Lapis told me.”

Pearl rolls her eyes. “And what exactly did Lapis tell you?”

“She put a lot of emphasis on it being a sudden horrific betrayal, and that the war caused a lot of gems to be shattered, and stuff like that.”

Pearl sighs, putting her face in her hands. “There… there were _countless_ gems shattered in the war. There would have been even more, were it not for your mother’s healing tears. There were great losses on both sides… friends and foes alike shattered across the battlefields. I… I try not to think about that part of the war… It’s… painful. But…” She sobs. “I suppose I can’t really focus on the fact that we won anymore, being where we are and all…”

Steven reaches forward and pulls Pearl into a hug. “We’ll… we’ll find someway to fix it. I promise. We can’t just do nothing… We _won’t_ just do nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, Steven's Birthday week made my designs of the diamonds (based on the statues from the sky arena) totaly incorrect. But I don't feel like changing it ATM, so it stays as is.


	16. Earthling

### Chapter 15

#### Earthling

Somehow, even though Pearl wasn’t even talking during her stay in the dilapidated labyrinth of the negative levels, it got  _ agonizingly _ quiet down in the dungeons after she was taken away- and probably shattered into a million tiny pieces- however long ago that was. Time just sort of blurs together down here in the dark dungeons. Amethyst sighs, and leans against the wall that used to be adjacent to Pearl, tears pricking at her eyes. She clenches her fists and huffs, trying not to break down into tears again. She is  _ so _ done with crying. “Ugh! This sucks! This really sucks!”

“Stating the obvious will help nothing, Amethyst.” Sapphire’s voice is low, and a little bit sad. 

Amethyst scowls, and glares in the direction of her friend’s voice. “WELL! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!?” Amethyst shouts, jumping to her feet. She leans in dangerously close to the gem destabilization field in an attempt to see Sapphire, though her friend is still out of sight in her own cell somewhere to Amethyst’s left. She punches the field, resulting in being zapped and her arm fizzling out for a moment before it reformed. “ARRRGH!”

“Nothing. There is absolutely nothing that you can do, Amethyst. Just… sit tight.” There’s a pause, and a quiet sigh from Sapphire. “And Ruby, walking into the destabilization field to poof yourself will only make them angry with you, so I would strongly advise not doing that, as making them angry has a high probability of being shattered immediately.”

There’s a quiet groan from Ruby and she mutters under her breath. “Great. There goes my plan for getting a little peace.” 

Sapphire huffs. “Oh, come on. Ruby, you were never going to  _ actually _ do it. The moment I said something the very slim chance of it that existed before vanished.”

“I CAN STILL IMAGINE IT SAPH!” Ruby chokes back a sob. “AT LEAST LET ME IMAGINE IT!”

“There’s no point to imagining something that you won’t be doing.”

“WELL YOU SEEM TO THINK THERE’S NO POINT TO ANYTHING RIGHT NOW!”

Amethyst groans, falling backward on the floor, as Sapphire and Ruby start bickering over… something? Sapphire not having figured them a way out or something? Amethyst isn’t really listening, since the two have been alternating between that and reassuring each other that everything was okay and that they still love each each other, ever since Pearl was taken. That is, when they weren’t all sitting in complete morbid silence. 

After some time- she’s really lost the ability to keep track down here- Amethyst huffs, and sits up. “You guys are getting on my nerves! All of our days are numbered AND PEARL IS PROBABLY ALREADY DEAD, and you two KEEP DOING THIS! WHY!  _ WHY _ am I  _ STILL _ the only sane one! I thought we’d be okay after I got you two to snap out of it back on Earth!  BUT NO!” She crosses her arms and makes an angry growling noise. “So, if you’re going to argue- instead of doing anything productive, instead say NOTHING AT ALL! Don’t speak! Because at least that way my last days aren’t going to be spent hearing one of my best friends FIGHTING WITH HERSELF! I’d rather the silence then listening this garbage!”

Footsteps, ones that Amethyst barely even noticed approaching in her anger, stop just out of sight of Amethyst’s cell, and a quiet, cold laugh resonates from that spot. “Well, aren’t we chatty down here.” The figure strides into sight. Very tall with vibrant yellow hair spiked forward, a twisted grin, and huge shoulder pads, this gem’s appearance just makes Amethyst want to snicker, but Sapphire’s quiet squeak of fear made it clear that this gem is supposed to be intimidating.

“What’s it matter to you?” Amethyst crosses her arms, turning her nose up at the gem. “It’s not like we were forbidden to talk. In fact the ‘great and honorable’ White Diamond kept  _ trying _ and  _ trying _ to get us to talk. Whatever.” Amethyst clasps her hands behind her head flippantly. “So who are you anyway, shoulder pads?”

“OVERCOOKED RUNT!” The tall yellow gem growls. “You  _ dare  _ insult a Diamond!?” She snarls and slams her fist against the wall, causing it to shake, and shake more than Amethyst’s and Ruby’s hits on the wall combined. The tall gem takes a deep breath, visibly composing herself, before giving Amethyst a smile that  _ Jasper _ would call demented. “I am  _ Yellow Diamond _ , you pathetic runt, and your life, will be in my hands, so I would suggest cleaning up your attitude problem.”

Amethyst scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Like anything I’ll do will stop you from killing me.”

She leans close to the stabilization field, grinning manically. “It seems like you don’t understand.  _ Killing you is the merciful option _ .”

“Funny how I still don’t care.” Amethyst crosses her arms. “Nothing could be any worse than this nonsense.”

“What a strange gem.” She cackles. “You could have been a great warrior. You could have worked for me, and been as mighty as Jasper… even with your defective size. I might…” She smirks. “I might even consider inducting you into my army if you behave properly.  You could live comfortably yet, little defect.”

Amethyst sneers. “As if. I’d never join your army. I don't have to listen to YOU. I never pledged my allegiance to this cruddy stinkhole of a planet!"

"Oh but you DID, little pebble. You are completely and utterly OURS.” She sniggers. “Every fibre of your being, every ATOM of your gauche little gem is stamped forever and always as property of the great Diamond Council.” She cackles. “Your mistake was thinking you ever had a say in the matter."

She blinks several times, seething at Yellow Diamond, before the absolute hopelessness of this all hits her like a speeding train.

They’re trapped in a prison. Pearl is probably dead. And this Diamond is taunting her about it all. And she’s right. She was  _ made _ by these people. They… they do own her. She collapses to the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. "Well Steven will never be one of you..." She grumbles, turning her back on Yellow Diamond.

Yellow Diamond cackles. "Oh, but he already IS, child. He just doesn't know it yet."

Amethyst jolts back to her feet, her face contorted with anger. "NO WAY! SAPH! TELL THIS STUPID POINTY-HEADED JERK HOW WRONG SHE IS!" 

"The future is full of billions of possible outcomes. To label one as simply 'wrong' would be utterly foolish. But to label one 'right' is just as so." Sapphire’s voice is calm and even as she speaks, showing very little emotion. 

“AAAARGH!” Ruby roars, and there’s a loud thud, probably from her hitting the wall in frustration. 

“Calm down Ruby. Anger will help resolve nothing.”

Yellow Diamond glances on either side of Amethyst, towards Sapphire and Ruby briefly, and smirks. “You know, it really is quite pathetic that you seemed to have been the lowest in your little band of traitors. Heh.” She leans against the wall by Amethyst’s cell. “You could have been so much more than you are, but here you are, last in command amongst a  _ permafusion _ and a defective  _ pearl _ . It’s just  _ pathetic _ .”

“Garnet and Pearl were around longer. Makes sense to me. Once Rose was gone, Garnet was the boss. Case closed.” Amethyst glares pointedly away from Yellow Diamond, scowling. 

“You still don’t  _ get it _ , do you? You were made to be a  _ perfect warrior _ , but even broken as you are you’re orders of  _ magnitude _ better than the rest of the Crystal Clods, but still you took orders from a  _ fusion _ and a _pearl_. You  _ sicken _ me. We built you to be PERFECT. And you would dare to exist before us as anything less? And then have the sheer GALL to show defiance? Clearly it wasn't just your size that was impeded by your defect. Your wit  _ must _ have been affected for you to behave so  _ idiotically _ .” She scoffs. “It’s almost disgusting that you would be so spineless and undisciplined to take orders from the likes of them.”

Amethyst jumps to her feet. “YOU KNOW WHAT! I DON’T CARE IF YOU THINK YOU OWN ME! YOU  **DON’T** ! YOU LOST ALL OF THE VERY LITTLE RIGHT TO CLAIM ME YOU HAD WHEN I WAS  **ABANDONED** ALONE IN THE KINDERGARTEN!” She takes a deep breath. “You don’t own me. I have NO allegiance to you. Rose found me, and she took me in when you people left me!” 

"You honestly blame US for that? It wasn’t our fault you made the decision to dally beneath the  _ dirt _ for several centuries. And let us not forget that it was your  _ dear _ “benefactor” Rose Quartz who shut the kindergartens on earth down in the first place. And furthermore, how DARE you speak to me like that! Me, a DIAMOND! You stand before me as though you have any authority? Do you not realize  _ where you are _ ? You are absolutely nothing! You are a NUMBER! A series of code inputs that WE designed to create the perfect warrior! You are NOTHING more than what WE designed you to be. And you couldn't even do THAT correctly! You’re clearly defective in every way."

Amethyst flinches back, tears pricking at her eyes. “You know what, I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! I don’t  _ care _ if you think I’m ‘defective’. I don’t care if you think you own me. I don’t care if you people made me- OH WAIT! NO! YOU, YELLOW DIAMOND, HAD ABSOLUTELY  **NOTHING** , TO DO WITH MY CREATION! I might not know much  about the war and what things were like when Rose was Pink Diamond, but I do know that Pink Diamond was in charge of Kindergartens! And that means if ANYONE had a right to claim to ‘own’ me it would be ROSE, who’s gone. So why don’t you SHUT UP, and BUZZ OFF, because I am  _ tired _ of hearing your crap!”

Yellow Diamond cackles. “Pretend you don’t care all you want, but do you  _ really _ think I didn’t see those tears? You  _ know _ I’m right, little runt. Rose was as much one of us when she made you as any of the other Diamonds. Do not deny your heritage, whelp, you wouldn’t even  _ exist _ were it not for the Diamond Council. Face it, you’d be  _ nothing _ without us.”

Amethyst turns her back on Yellow Diamond again, and from the garbled noise of rage Yellow makes, it’s clearly starting to get on her nerves. “I never said the Diamond Council had nothing to do with me. I know Rose used to be a part of the Diamond Council. I said  _ you _ had nothing to do with me. Honestly, I’m beginning to think you’re the one who’s an idiot.”

The field on Amethyst’s cell drops, and her shoulder wrenches in pain as she’s suddenly slammed into and pinned against the wall, looking down on the snarling face of Yellow Diamond. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t shatter you right now you little whelp.” She hisses, slamming Amethyst into the wall again.

In a quick move Amethyst’s whip is out and around Yellow Diamond’s arms, yanking them off of Amethyst and allowing her to dash out of her cell. 

She doesn’t make it two feet before a yellow sword slams down in front of her, wedging a good ways into the ground and just barely missing Amethyst’s feet. She’s grabbed by the back of her shirt and forcibly thrown back in her cell, slamming roughly into the wall as the field goes back up, with Yellow Diamond scowling at her from the other side. “It’s a shame you’re so stubborn.” She sighs dramatically, and rolls her eyes. “Even with your defect you’d be an asset to my army.” Yellow pauses, a smile smirk on her face. "Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to settle for a new  _ Pink Diamond _ instead.” Her maniacal cackles reverberate throughout the dungeon halls, the insidious laughter only barely pierced by the shrieks of Amethyst’s rage.


	17. Chapter 16: Tools and Batteries

### Chapter 16

#### Tools and Batteries

Peridot paces the living room. “I still can NOT believe you did that!” She throws her arms out, her fingers spreading out wide. “It was so unbelievably FOOLISH!” 

Lapis, sitting on the couch, pulls her knees up to her chest. “Yeah, Steven. Going to the Underslums I think might just be the definition of a bad idea.”

Steven stares hard at both Lapis and Peridot from his spot sitting on the floor by the coffee table. Pearl puts her hand on his shoulder, and he flashes a smile over his shoulder at her before speaking. “I’m glad I did, because I am SO tired of being lied to! Lapis! You're the one who lied to me first and got me to go to this STUPID PLANET!” He buries his face in his hands. “I, mean, I know I should have trusted the Crystal Gems and let them explain this stuff to me, but you had me convinced that they were bad people!”

“Steven, I never lied.” Lapis scowls, glaring firmly at Pearl. “I stand by everything I told you.”

Steven jumps to his feet. “Well you left a whole bunch out at least!” 

“That’s called a lie of omission, Steven.” Pearl laces her fingers together. “Though I think it may have been all she knew, since I think back during the war the council was deliberately spreading propaganda to make us look bad…” She exhales slowly. “I… I think Lapis only had the best of intentions, and every reason to distrust us, being that she was trapped in a mirror…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” Peridot mutters, crossing her arms. 

“What? What are you talking about Peridot!? What do you mean it  _ wouldn’t have mattered _ ?” Steven turns his steely gaze on Peridot. 

She sighs. “I never thought I would miss the nicknames.” She gazes at the floor. “We were returning to earth soon anyway. Well… I was going to, before I was reassigned. I can only assume some other technician who HASN’T read all of the files HALF as thoroughly as I did is to go there now, though I’m  _ sure _ they’re still going to use my robinoids to repair the galaxy warp.”

“Wait… Why were you going to Earth? It’s not a gem controlled planet, and at this point even the humans would be able to give you some hassle were you to try and restart the Kindergarten.”

Peridot snickers. “Oh, please. We gave up on the kindergarten there long ago, before I even existed.” She shakes her head. “No, no. I was being sent there to check on the progress of the Cluster, and then return home. It’s why I sent the Red Eye. To see what, if any, gems remained on earth, but it detected nothing.”

“We blew it up- and what’s a ‘Cluster’.” 

“I was already made aware of that, and the Cluster is a massive, artificial fusion composed of millions of Gem shards. It was constructed as a geoweapon once it was clear that Earth was no longer a viable colony.”

Pearl makes a strangled noise. “Artificial fusion?” Steven looks over his shoulder at the visibly horrified Pearl. “Of  _ Gem Shards _ !? I didn’t think Homeworld could sink any lower!”

“Aren’t… aren’t gem shards like… dead gems?” Steven asks slowly, looking around at the three other gems, Pearl and Lapis both looking horrified, and Peridot is near expressionless. 

Lapis manages a slight nod. “I’m actually with Pearl on this one- a miracle I know, I actually agree with her on something- but that is WAY wrong, Peri.”

“I didn’t conduct the experiments! I was just going to be sent to check on them!” Peridot snaps, turning her back on everyone. “But there’s nothing to do about it! And there’s nothing to do about the problems you have with Homeworld!”

“I WANT TO GO HOME THEN!” Steven shouts bursting into tears. “I’ve wanted to go home since our first day here!”

“Steven, we are in your ho-” Steven, getting angrier, cuts across Peridot.

“THIS IS NOT MY HOME. MY HOME IS BEACH CITY. DELMARVA. USA. EARTH!” Peridot turns back round toward Steven, her eyes wide and her mouth open.

Pearl hugs him from behind, murmuring in his ear. “We’ll find a way to go back home. For all of the Crystal Gems, I don’t know how yet, but we will.”

Peridot, after several minutes of wide-eyed silence and the occasional bemused stutter, lets out a sad sigh. “Going back to Earth would merely be ensuring your own death. Some time in the near future the Cluster will destroy the planet from the inside out.”

“THAT JUST MEANS WE NEED TO GO BACK EVEN MORE! TO STOP IT!” He falls to his knees, shaking with sobs. “Almost everyone I care about is there…”

Peridot sighs, looking uncomfortable. “Steven… I… can’t condone this kind of talk any longer. Showing open support for such dissidents, your Pearl openly showing her traitorous nature, and now talk of abandoning Homeworld outright… It’s unacceptable!”

“Shut up, Peri. I think you’re the only one in the room who isn’t peeved at Homeworld right now.” Lapis, crosses her arms, looking sullen. 

Peridot groans, running her fingers through her hair. “Okay. Fine, even I can admit that there are certain…unsavory transgressions often made by the council, but they have all the power! There’s nothing anyone could do about it!” She exhales slowly. “And, Steven, you have an appointment in approximately an hour with Yellow Diamond, so you need to pull yourself together!” She sinks her knees next to Steven. “You can continue to be unhappy. I cannot demand you not feel sorrow, or fear, but you CANNOT let the Diamond’s see it. Because currently their belief that you are easily manipulated and totally loyal is the only thing keeping you, your pearl, and probably Lazuli alive.”

Steven sniffles, and gently pushes Pearl’s hand off his shoulder, before standing up. “Fine. But I don’t know how much longer I can do this…”

“Well however much longer you can keep it up, Steven, is probably however long you’ll continue to be alive.” Peridot crosses her arms, scowling. “I cannot believe I am about to say this, but... I have grown fond of you, and I do not want to see such a fate befall you.”

Steven smiles slightly. “I’ll… I’ll be careful, but, Peridot, I don’t plan on dying, even when I can’t take doing nothing anymore.”

She shakes her head. “You can’t beat them, but I suppose I can’t stop you from trying…” She sighs. “So… Ugh, go get cleaned up, and be ready to leave in half an hour.” She glances over him. “Seriously now, you are still COVERED in dust from going down there.”

“Okay. I’ll go shower really quick. Am I meeting Yellow for more training?”

“Yes! And she caught wind that you were learning sword techniques, so I imagine she’ll want to see some!”

“… I’ll manage! I should be able to… do something! I’ve watched Connie and Pearl enough!” He darts off to the bathroom.

About ten minutes later he comes back out showered and in clean clothes, to see an empty living room. “Uh, guys?”

Pearl steps out of Peridot’s room. “Oh! Sorry Steven, I was trying to convince Peridot to delay leaving at least a little bit so I could go over some basic techniques with you, because I don’t think what little you would have gleaned from watching me train Connie would be very convincing to Yellow Diamond.”

Peridot marches out behind Pearl. “We don’t have the time! He’s to meet Yellow Diamond in 20 minutes out at Shard Peak!”

“That’s 20 minutes from now, and the past several times Yellow Diamond was nearly an hour late meeting us there.”

Peridot sputters. “Okay, how about this. We leave NOW, and you go over the ‘basics’ with him while we are waiting?” She groans. “Ugh, compromising with a pearl. What has my life come to…”

Pearl nods. “Yes, that could work. Let us go then.” 

Steven walks to Lapis’ door. “Hey! Lapis! We’re about to go! Are you coming with?”

She pokes her head out, and dries Steven’s hair- still wet from his shower- with a flick of her wrist. “Fighting stuff? I’ll pass.”

“Okay. Just figured I should ask.” He grins and leaves with Peridot and Pearl. 

Once the train gets there, Pearl hands a sword to Steven. “Be careful. Just watching isn’t nearly enough to know what you’re doing.”

She summons a holo-Pearl, and Steven still instinctively flinches away. He shakes his head, and steels himself, taking what he thinks is a proper stance.

Pearl sighs. “Just like I thought… Steven your feet are all wrong and your knees are bent too much, like this.” She gently adjusts his position. “Now, some of what Yellow Diamond has already taught to applies. You always need to be able to be mobile on a battlefield, so you can’t stay too rigid.” Steven takes a deep breath, and loosens up, still staring down the stationary holo-Pearl. Pearl sighs, and steps back from Steven. “Initiate, training mode. Steven, be careful, she’s going to attack you.” 

For the next hour or so, Steven practices the most basic of sword techniques with the holo-Pearl, Pearl giving him instructions the entire time- only stopping when Peridot loudly announces that Yellow Diamond’s train is approaching. Pearl quickly dismisses Holo-Pearl and stores away the swords in her gem.   

Yellow Diamond climbs off her personal train car, looking a little dusty. “So terribly sorry for the delay! I was checking in with…” Her eyes flit to Pearl. “Some prisoners.” She laughs heartily. “Ah, but that’s work! It doesn't matter right now! Are you ready for more training? I heard that you started to learn swordplay, so I kinda wanna see what you’ve got so far.”

“Well, I’m not very good yet, but I guess I could show you…” He fidgets, glancing at Pearl. “Uhm, uh. Pearl? I kinda need a sword to do anything.”

Pearl nods stiffly, and pulls both stored blades out of her gem, handing one to Steven.

Yellow Diamond chuckles. “Seems to me like you have the perfect defect. Still obedient, but can understand things in an actually intelligent way. Seems convenient. Now, show me what you’ve got!”

Steven takes a deep breath, grimacing nervously, before taking his stance. Pearl nods slightly, and takes a stance as well. From there she ‘fights’ at about the level of holo-Pearl in training mode, but pulls back on any strike that would actually hit Steven. After about 15 minutes of this Yellow Diamond calls for them to stop.

“Mediocre- you almost look like you’ve only had one lesson-” Steven smiles sheepishly “but you have potential. Is your pearl the one teaching you?” She looks Pearl up and down. “If so I want to see her go all out in a sword fight even more. I can tell just how much she’s holding back.”

Steven nods slightly. “Y-Yes, Pearl is the one teaching me.”

Yellow snickers. “I suppose it’s only appropriate, since I’m fairly sure it was your mother who taught her.” Yellow sighs. “Oh, but I still wish we had your mother’s sword! Nevertheless, let’s move on!” 

The next hour is spent going further into the ways Steven can use his shield.

At the end of the lesson, Yellow smirks at Pearl. “Next time, you and I are dueling. I want to see Pink’s soldier pearl’s sword skills in action. And don’t worry, I’ll bring you a blade that won’t shatter on contact with mine.”

Pearl nods slightly, and Yellow Diamond walks to her train car, cackling. “Well, see you later!”

“It’ll be hard to resist the urge to just poof her if she gives me a sword that could actually do it…” Pearl hisses under her breath. “She was down there with them! With the other Crystal Gems before coming here!”

Steven frowns. “I… I thought she might have been, with the weird way she looked at you before saying prisoners, but I didn't want to think about it…” He sighs. “Let’s… let’s just go back. Lapis is probably lonely.”

Steven trudges to the train car, his imagination running wild with all the terrible things Yellow Diamond might have been doing to the Crystal Gems. He sits, leaning against the wall with his head tilted up towards the ceiling, fighting back tears. He starts to look down when, for the first time since he first got in one of the train cars all the way back when he landed on the colony world, he notices the gem embedded in the middle of the ceiling. He leans away from the wall, still staring up at it with narrowed eyes, and gasps quietly in surprise when it starts to glow as the train moves. 

Why does this seem so odd… A memory flashes through his mind. Pearl giving him the mirror.

_ “We found this gem-powered mirror at the Galaxy Warp.” _

_ “gem-powered mirror” _

_ “gem-powered” _

Steven gasps, clapping his hands over his mouth in horror. Is… Is the train being powered by some poor trapped gem, just like the mirror with Lapis? The longer he stares at the gem in the ceiling, one that’s purple and yellow both, the more he remembers seeing gems embedded everywhere. Heck, even his bathroom has embedded gems in the shower and sink.  

He forces himself to stay calm, though he doesn't stop staring at that gem even once during the entire train ride home, and he’s utterly silent as they go to their housing on the top floor. Once inside, Steven beelines straight for his bathroom, running his fingers across the aqua-blue gem embedded above his faucet, and looking over at the identically coloured but differently cut gem located right beneath his shower head.

Steven sighs, recoiling from it. “Oh, no…” His next stop in the kitchen as he checks… Yup. Three more embedded gems here. One on the fridge a oval white gem with black streaks, a triangularly faceted dark purple gem in his cabinet, and a square faceted red-pink gemstone on his oven.  

He runs to his bedroom where he finds another embedded gem inside the top drawer of his dresser, a light pink circle cut gemstone. He trudges into the living room, immediately spotting the rainbow but mostly purple and green gem on the ceiling, and for the first time notices how all the light lines in the ceiling connect to it. He groans, and sinks to the ground, his face in his hands. 7 gems.  _ 7 gems trapped powering his household conveniences.  _

“Lapis.” Steven mutters. “What was it like being trapped in a mirror?”

Lapis looks over from her game of chess with Pearl. “Huh now?”

Steven looks up, fighting back tears and repeats his question. “What was it like being trapped in a mirror?”

“Uhm, this is random…” Lapis laughs nervously. “But, if you must know, it sucked. It really sucked. It was like living in a dream and you can’t wake up. I couldn’t do  _ anything _ . It took forever to even be able to talk to you like I did.”

Steven squeaks. “L-look up.”

Lapis raises an eyebrow, but shrugs and looks up. She’s staring at the ceiling for a solid minute before it hits her and she falls off the couch. “Aaaa! That’s a gem!” She looks at it, then at Peridot. “W-what is a gem doing embedded in the ceiling!?”

Peridot blinks, looking puzzled before slowly answering. “Powering the lights?”

Pearl looks up at it, and her eyes widen. “Is… Is it a corrupted gem?” 

“No, probably not. It was probably a criminal. Honestly, what’s the big deal?”

Steven jolts to his feet, glaring hard at Peridot. “THAT IS A PERSON! PERIDOT! IT IS A PERSON!” Steven roughly swipes away his tears. “AND THERE ARE 7!  **7** GEMS ON THIS FLOOR OF THIS BUILDING ALONE!” He falls back to his knees sobbing. “And one in  _ every single train car _ . And who knows where else…”

“And they were all put there for a reason. Honestly, I don’t see what the issue is. If a gem commits a crime, they’re put in something in order to act as a power source. Crime and Punishment, with added community service. It’s not as if it’s a complicated concept.”

“IT’S WRONG!” Steven screams at Peridot. “HOW DO YOU NOT GET THAT!?” Pearl crouches down next to Steven, slipping her arm around his shoulder and sending a scathing glare towards Peridot. 

“It’s depraved…” Pearl mutters. “Completely depraved. Back… Back before the war only corrupted gems were used as power sources.” Her eyes flick to Lapis. “Or… So I thought.”

Lapis scowls, tears shining in her eyes. “CRIMINALS!? WHAT DID I EVER DO WRONG THAT GOT ME DEEMED A CRIMINAL? WHAT DID I DO THAT WAS SO WRONG I GOT PUT IN A MIRROR FOR MILLENNIA!?”

Peridot squeaks and flinches back. “I-I don’t know! I don’t know!” She stumbles backward, and falls over, hitting the floor with a metallic clang. 

Tears streak down Lapis’ cheeks. “I was SO excited about going home after being trapped in the mirror. After being trapped on earth, but THIS! THIS PLACE IS NOT THE HOME I REMEMBER! I don’t know how anything works, everyone treats me like an outsider, and apparently the Diamonds are even crueler than they used to be.” She glares daggers at Peridot. “So don’t you even DARE make this even worse by acting like these gems- LIKE ANY GEM deserves that. Because no one does. It’s just CRUEL.”

“They are criminals Lapis. They were probably  _ dangerous _ .”

“THEN PUT THEM IN A CELL! DON’T TURN THEM INTO TOOLS FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE! Seriously! Do ANY of you new gems have a  _ single _ moral fiber left inside of you?”

“DON’T BLAME ME FOR CHOICES I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH!” Peridot snaps. “Don’t blame me.” She takes a deep breath. “I had nothing to do with any of this. It’s been like this my entire existence.”

Lapis turns away from Peridot. “Fine, it’s not your fault. But you could at least  _ pretend _ to care.”

“What do you expect me to do? For me you three are overreacting to something that has always been normal to me. All of this has  _ always _ been normal to me. I’ve never known anything else.”

“You’re working class…” Pearl murmurs. “You were created to follow orders unquestionably. More free will than a servant class gem. but not by much. That’s why you’re finding it so difficult to question this all. After all,  _ it’s not what you were built for, _ is it?”

Peridot goes silent, staring at the floor. The only noise in the room is Steven sniffling as he tries to stop crying. It’s like this for almost 20 minutes when they’re interrupted by Lion crashing in through a portal, Connie on his back.

“Hey! Steven, I know it’s late, but- Uh, am I interrupting something?” She looks around at all the gems, Pearl trying to comfort a still teary eyed Steven, Peridot standing off to the side and staring at the ground in silence, and Lapis sulking in the corner of the room. 

“No! No! What is it Connie?” Steven jumps to his feet. 

“I… What is going on here? Did… they not take you talking to Indicolite well?” Connie glances warily over at Peridot, who doesn’t react. “Okay, now I’m really freaked. Steven, what is going on?”

“Uhm.” Steven glances up to the ceiling. “So, you remember what I told you about Lapis, right? How she was trapped in a mirror?”

“Uh, yeah, why?” Connie looks around again, her expression utterly baffled.

“Uhm.” Steven points up at the gem on the ceiling. “They do that to gems  _ everywhere _ here. I found 7 on this floor alone, and there’s one in every train car, and Peridot says they’re built into tools and… and...” Steven bursts into a fresh wave of tears, and Pearl is immediately at his side, pulling him into a hug.

Connie lets out a slow breath. “Woah. That’s a lot bigger than what I came up here for.” She chuckles humorlessly. “I was just coming up to tell you that Indicolite figured out a way she could talk to you more regularly…” Connie pulls 2 pink rods stuck together that look like Blue Diamond’s screen when inactive out of her coat pocket. She holds it out to Steven and he takes it. “She said you should store it in your gem when you’re not using it.”

Steven sniffles. “I don’t know how to store objects in my gem, but Pearl can carry it.”

Connie sinks to the floor, leaning on Lion. “That’d work. I think she’d want to talk to Pearl anyway.” She frowns steepling her hands. “We have go to do something. This whole system is broken, and thousands are suffering for it. We  _ must _ do  _ something _ to change it, but…” She sighs. “Indicolite just doesn’t have the forces we’d need to take on the Diamonds. We’d need and  _ army _ , and where would we find an army!?”

Steven gasps suddenly, looking slowly up at the ceiling, his eyes twinkling. “I know where we can get an army.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just posting the rest of the story today.


	18. Chapter 17: A New Rebellion

### Chapter 17

#### A New Rebellion

Steven laughs. “Lapis! Lapis! Lapis! Give me a boost!” Lapis looks over, clearly confused for a moment, before she realizes what he intends to do and grins, darting over and flying him to the ceiling. 

“I’m so sorry Steven.” Peridot mutters, before helicopter fingering up and attempting to talk Steven and Lapis out of the air. “I can’t let you do this! This is taking it TOO FAR.” Her voice cracks as she moves to restrain Steven and Lapis, only to have a sword gently pressing into her back via Connie, and Pearl with spear in hand pointed at Peridot. 

“I-if you all just desist immediately w-we can pretend this never happened!” She stammers, flinching away from Connie. “We can simply return to living as we were previously, yes? Please?” 

“I’m sorry Peridot…” Steven murmurs, summoning his shield. “That’s not gonna happen!” He slams his shield hard against Peridot, sending her crashing across the room. It’s minutes later, after a short and ultimately depressing battle, that Peridot is defeated, tied up with some rope Connie had, which causes Steven to question of why she had rope, but he is a little too preoccupied to worry about it now. He blinks away tears, thinking about what Pearl said earlier. Peridot is… She’s working class. She might not even have the free will to question the Diamonds. “I really am sorry…” 

With some effort they pull the gem out of the ceiling, a mighty crack resounding across the room as it’s torn from its support in the ceiling, the lights all flickering out, and it’s just a moment later that it forms into a brightly grinning purple and green coloured Gem. She whirls around and hugs Steven. “Hello! I don’t know who you are! But you freed me! Many thanks to you! I’m Mystic Topaz!”

Steven grins. “Hi! I’m Steven! Uh, for a long story short, I have Pink Diamond’s gem. And we plan to take down the Diamond Council, once and for all, but we need to help of gems like you to do it!”

She snorts. “Well, you have my help… Steven! I hate White Diamond!” Steven nods, grinning, and runs into his bedroom, where he prys the gem from his dresser free. After a moment a light pink gem forms, looking startled to even exist. She looks around, and laughs. “Oh! I’m free! I’m actually free!” She giggles. “Hi! I’m Pink Spinel! You set me free! I owe a debt of gratitude to you! Name an action, and I will follow.”

Steven smiles. “Wanna help us topple the Diamond Council?” 

She nods excitedly, and from there Steven frees every single remaining gem in his housing- Rubellite on his oven, Purple Spinel in his cabinet, Howlite on his fridge, and two Aquamarines in his bathroom- and asks them to help fight, and they unanimously agreed.

All of the gems gather in the living room, Pearl shining her gem like a flashlight so they aren’t in total darkness. “Okay! So I feel like I owe all you newbies an explanation! I’m Steven Universe! I’m from Earth, and I’m half human. My mom was Rose Quartz, A.K.A. Pink Diamond, so I have her gem.” A couple of the gems gasp as he indicates towards the pink gem in his torso, and Steven sighs. “Yeah! I know! It’s crazy! But I wanted to clarify on what I meant before when I said I wanted your help toppling the Diamond council! You see they don’t have as much control as they want you to believe, they do have opposition, but not nearly enough that it poses any  _ real _ threat to them. We need your- and every other imprisoned gem’s- help in toppling them. We need you to be our army against theirs! I won’t make you fight- that’d just make me as bad as they are- so I’m  _ asking _ you too! You don’t have to, and we’ll just help you escape to safety if you don’t want too.”

To Steven’s surprise, one by one, they all agree to fight. Steven grins, laughing triumphantly. “YES! I am SO glad all of you are willing to help! It won’t be easy, but the Diamond council WILL FALL!”

“How…” Peridot mutters from her unceremonious resting place on the floor, her voice shaky and defeated. “How do you expect to ever beat them? What exactly are you going to do now that you’ve started this ludicrous plan? Freeing a few gems isn’t enough to build an army, and the fact that they were freed will likely be noticed so-” 

Lapis shoves a washcloth in Peridot’s mouth. “Shut up Peri. Your downer opinion was not asked for, nor was it appreciated.”

Steven frowns, turning to look at Pearl. “Hey, can I have that thing to communicate with Indicolite? I feel like we should probably tell her what we’re doing.”

Pearl summons the scroll-like object from her gem. “Sure thing Steven, but do you even know how to operate it?”

“Nope! I was just going to try things until I figured it out!”

Pearl sighs, sinking to her knees next to Steven. “Well, just from a look at it, it seems to be an older version of Blue Diamond’s screen, or Peridot’s screen as well, though hers is built into her limbs…” She turns the thing over in her hands, tracing her finger over the spot where the two pink rods look like they should separate. “If I’m right it should activate like this…” She quickly twists one of the rods and it spins away from the other, a faintly glowing translucent pink screen forming between them. “Ah ha- Wait! Why is the screen blank?” She forcefully taps it a few times, looking annoyed. 

Steven grabs it. “Let me try!” The moment it’s in Steven’s hands the glow of the screen brightens and a keyboard appears on the bottom it.

Pearl scowls and crosses her arms, muttering something along the lines of “I hate gem readers…”

Steven shrugs, and taps ‘HI’ onto the keyboard, his typing shown at the very top of the screen. 

Almost immediately a response appears below his message. ‘HELLO STEVEN’

Steven grins at it, barely containing a squeal of excitement. “It works! It works!” He quickly taps in another message. ‘INDICOLITE? I HAVE A PLAN.’

‘DON’T EXPLAIN OVER THIS. CAN YOU COME DOWN?’

Pearl grabs his shoulder. “You’re not going down there alone again.” She sighs. “I still think it’s dangerous for you to go down there at all but, if you’re going down… I’m going with you.”

Steven smiles. “That’s fine with me.” ‘SURE CAN. I’M BRINGING PEARL THOUGH.’

‘FINE. BUT BE CAUTIOUS.’ There’s a delay, but another message appears below that one. ‘HOW ARE YOU GETTING DOWN?’

Steven frowns. “Uh, Pearl, how should we go down? I was thinking jumping down in my bubble again, or taking Lion.”

“Down where?” One of the freed gems -Howlite- asks. 

“Oh, the underslums. I need to talk to Indicolite.”

She grins. “Well then, I know an  _ easy _ way to get down. What level are we on? 8th? 9th? 10th even?”

“We’re on the 10th level…What’s this easy way down?”

“The junk shoots!” Howlite beams. “There are shoots in the uppermost levels that go directly down to the underslums. The upper class put all their junk in them to send to the underslums where the servant gems have to clean it up and recycle all of it, just for the upper class to use it again, and send it back down, and so on. I know that before I was captured I was Indicolite’s main contact on level 8, and the junk shoots were how we stayed in contact. They’re not really monitored well, and Indicolite would know exactly where to meet you!”

Pearl blinks. “Those… Those are  _ still _ in use? I would figure since they seem to have warp technology  _ everywhere _ now, not to mention the ludicrous speeds they’ve gotten to trains up to, that they would have stopped using something that runs on simple  _ gravity _ .”

“Huh. You’re awful smart for a pearl. But I guess if it isn’t broken- as far as they know- don’t fix it?”

Pearl sighs. “I’m going to ignore that first comment…” She’s silent for a moment. “I suppose that  _ might _ explain it, but it seems like a fairly big thing for them to overlook, especially since they  _ know _ the resistance operates out of the underslums.”

“Oh. I forgot to mention, they  _ did _ put monitors on it BUT Indicolite was able to get two gems loyal to her cause as the monitors. Presuming they haven’t been caught…”

Steven nods, tapping a question on the screen. ‘ARE THE JUNK SHOOTS SAFE?”

‘YES. I’ll SEND MORGANITE TO MEET YOU.’

Steven grins. “Okay! I’m going to double check for any more trapped gems before we go, and then, Howlite, can you show me and Pearl to the Junk Shoot?” 

“Sure can!” 

Steven nods, and searches his housing one last time and finding one last imprisoned gem, a small red one, on the bottom of his toaster. He reaches to pry it out, then second guesses it. “Hmmm.” He walks over to Lion. “I’ll free you soon friend.” He places the toaster in Lion’s mane. “Can you meet up with us down there Lion?” 

Lion makes a noise before standing up and nudging Connie with his nose.

Connie chuckles and climbs on his back. “See you in a few Steven.” Lion creates a portal and bounds through. 

Howlite blinks several times. “That was weird. SO! You need to be shown to the junk shoot! Let’s go!” She giggles, and darts out the door- running head long into the invisible wall around the elevator platform. 

Steven chuckles nervously following her and pulls Howlite and Pearl onto the platform with him, Howlite rubbing her head. 

“Okay. I agree, gem readers are the worst…” Howlite mutters to Pearl, who sighs. 

“Yes. Thankfully this one shouldn’t send any alerts to the Diamonds. I’m fairly certain that it only reads from a short list of who’s allowed on the elevator without an escort.”

Howlite gasps. “Wait! Oh! Oh! I know why you’re so smart! You’re Pink Diamond’s defective pearl! The one who fought with her on Earth!”

Pearl huffs, crossing her arms. “Yes. Your point is?”

“Well, what are you doing here!? You’re supposed to be on Earth, aren’t you!?”

Pearl blinks several times, glances down at Steven, then back at Howlite. “You… You’re kidding, right?”

“Oh. You came with him. Duh. Okay. Sorry!” She chuckles nervously. “Come on! The junk shoot should be this way!” She leads Steven and Pearl all the way to the other side of the 10th level and stops in front of an innocuous looking white circle on the ground behind a industrial building. “Here it is! 10th level junk shoot!” Her eyes flit down to it, and she stomps her foot on the edge of the circle, sending it spinning up, revealing a very dark smooth tunnel curving downward. “You can just slide down! It’s easy! I’ll… wait here. I guess.” She plops down on the ground next to the shoot, smiling at Steven and Pearl, both of whom are staring hesitantly into the dark depths of the shoot. 

Pearl takes a shaky breath, then picks up Steven, slipping slowly into the shoot. In an instant to two are in total darkness as they slide quickly downward towards the underslums. It’s a solid minute before they shoot out of the mouth of the passageway at the bottom and are caught by Morganite, grinning widely at both of them. She sits Pearl down, and after a moment Pearl sits Steven down. 

“Hello Steven! I really wasn't expecting to see you again so soon!” She giggles. “And you brought a friend this ti- PEARL!? Ohmystarsohmystarsohmystars!” Morganite pulls Pearl into a very tight hug, lifting her off the ground, an impressive feat, given that Pearl is  _ taller _ than Morganite.

Pearl takes a step back, behind Steven, after Morganite sits her down. “N-nice to see you again too, Morganite.”

“You’re overtly wearing the Pink Diamond symbol!” Morganite points at the Pink Diamond on Pearl’s outfit where her star used to be. “How have you  _ not _ been arrested!?”

“I had to switch to this as to  _ not _ be in trouble, actually. I’m permitted to wear the Pink Diamond because technically…” She ruffles Steven’s hair and he shies away, glaring up at her in annoyance. “I …belong to Pink Diamond.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense. What did you have before?”

“A star. It… It was adopted as a symbol of the Crystal Gems after… After we lost Rose. And White Diamond realized as much and ordered me to change it.” She crosses her arms, looking uncomfortable. “Now then, can we go see Indicolite now, please?”

Morganite shakes herself. “Oh! Oh! Of course! Follow me!” She darts off and Steven and Pearl have to run to keep up with the excited pink gem as she leads them to Indicolite’s hideout. 

They get there and into Indicolite’s room, greeted by the image of a now eyepatch-less Indicolite struggling to push Lion of out her room and Connie awkwardly standing off to the side. “SERIOUSLY. What did I say about bringing this thing IN HERE!?”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but Steven wants him here- Oh! Hi Steven!” Connie notices them and waves. 

Indicolite stops immediately and whirls around to face Steven. “Steven!  _ Why _ do you want this… annoying beast here?” Her eyes flit to Pearl and narrow. In a flash she’s pulled a staff with a flat, metallic, star-shaped tip out of her gem and has it leveled at Pearl. “How did we meet?”

Pearl crosses her arms and sighs, but doesn’t really look surprised. “You were assigned as an  _ unnecessary _ guard to Pink Diamond on a scouting mission to a long abandoned colony- mostly to see if it was still viable to set up a kindergarten on- and she had brought me along. You rather rudely questioned my presence for the first half of the mission until  _ I _ protected  _ you _ from a corrupted gem that almost struck you from behind. After that you  _ quickly _ stopped complaining.”

Indicolite’s star-tipped staff vanishes and she stands up straight. “Okay, so it’s actually you. Good to see you again Pearl.”

“You as well, Indicolite. Good to see you’re still paranoid as ever.” Pearl says flatly, but smiles slightly at the blue-green gem. 

“You can never be too paranoid when you’re Homeworld’s most wanted. Now! Steven, you said you had a plan?”

“Okay! So, there really is  _ no _ way we can fix the issues by me trying to be political in the future. It’s too far in the future, it would take to long, and I’m not so sure I can actually do anything about them.”

“Well, what exactly do you expect me to do? I only have a few hundred gems who are willing to fight. They have an army of thousands. We just don’t have to forces necessary to fight them.”

“And that’s where my plan comes in. Now, it won’t be  _ easy _ but I think we can fight them. Lion come here.” Lion walks over to Steven, and Indicolite narrows her eyes. 

“Steven, I assure you, we can’t beat them with an army of a few hundred.”

“I know.” Steven reaches into Lion’s mane, which prompts a confused expression for Indicolite, but she stays silent. He pulls out the toaster and flips it to show the gem in the bottom. “ _ This _ is how we’ll beat them.”


	19. Chapter 18: Jailbreak

### Chapter 18

#### Jailbreak

Indicolite’s eyes widen, and she snatches the toaster from Steven. “You’re going to free the power gems.” She’s silent for a moment, her brow creased. “That… That could increase our number by an order of magnitude! We could actually stand a chance! But… We’d have to get enough freed before the Diamonds notice for this to work. Which means we would need gems working on every level to free them all at once. It’s doable, but it would take some effort. I suppose you could work on Level 10, and I could get gems to the other levels…” She glances at the toaster. “What is this thing?”

Steven frowns. “Yeah, but there was something else I wanted to do. I have 7 Gems up on the 10th level already freed who would be more than willing to help. I’ll go up to talk to them, and then… Then we’ve got to free the other Crystal Gems.” He smiles at Pearl, then looks back to Indicolite. “Oh. And that’s a toaster. It toasts bread. I guess it’s probably the only one on this entire planet, since I’m the only one who needs to eat.”

Indicolite shrugs, and yanks the gem out of the toaster. Just a moment later it forms into a red Gem, who blinks startled and looks around. 

“Uh. Hi. Oh!” She falls over seeing Indicolite. “Indicolite! Woah! What a surprise!”

“Hello Almandite. Good to know what actually happened to you.” Indicolite helps the red gem up. “We’re challenging the diamonds very soon, so we’re going to be freeing power gems to build up our numbers, and we’ll need every able-bodied gem working in order to do it.” She glances at Steven. “If you want to free the other Crystal gems I suggest you act quickly. And take the trains as long as you can. It’s inconspicuous.”

Steven nods slowly. “Is there an auto train at the dome right now?”

Indicolite shakes her head. “No, but you should have a private train car you can summon from there. Even if you don’t know how, I’d bet you anything that Pearl  _ does _ . So you’ll be fine.”

Pearl nods slightly and Indicolite smirks. “Morganite. Escort them out please.”

Morganite grins. “Okay!” She skips out and Steven and Pearl follow. “That plan is totally genius Steven! I mean, like WOW! Freeing the gems not only cuts power to almost everything, crippling the Diamonds, but it swells our numbers! It’s amazing! I mean, I think we’re actually going to win now! It seems totally impossible and really really just makes it look like we’d been doing nothing more than heckling the Diamonds for so long- But now it’s actually gonna be a fight, and we actually might stand a chance because of you Steven! That’s so great! It’s so totally amazing! I mean, WOW. We’re actually going to fight! I just can’t believe it! It’s just so stupendously wonderful and…” Morganite rambles on and on about how fantastic this all is all the way to the warp pad-like platform surrounded by the crystalline pillars. “Oh. I guess this is where we part ways. I really should be getting back to Indicolite! Good luck!” Morganite giggles and dashes off, waving goodbye to Steven and Pearl. 

“She talks even more than I remembered.” Pearl lets out a slow breath and grabs Steven’s hand pulling him up onto the platform and activating it, sending them up to the dome of Gemkind. Pearl looks around, and tugs Steven to one of several podiums around the outside area of the dome. 

“Okay Steven. You need to put your hand on it-” Steven smacks his hand on the podium and it immediately glows pink. Pearl nods. “Okay. Now, it should actually be quite intuitive, unless they made it more complex for some reason. Just think of our train car, and will it to come here.”

Steven nods slowly, and focuses very hard on their train car, his eyes squeezed tightly shut, and does so for several minutes. He only opens his eyes when Pearl grabs his shoulder. “Wha?” He looks around, and sees their train car waiting for them. “Yes! But… Wait, I don’t know how to operate it.” 

Pearl smiles, and pulls him on by his hand. “Steven all you have to do is grant permission for me to operate it. It seems like the steering didn’t actually change. Just the speed…” She glances up to the ceiling. “And the power source.” 

“Okaaaay. How do I do that?” Pearl picks him up and holds him in front of the barely visible screen on the wall. 

“Place your hand there and say  _ ‘Operation permissions granted to Pink Diamond Pearl 1.’  _ Exactly. Say that exactly.”

Steven grins and smacks his hand on, repeating Pearl  _ exactly _ .

A moment later a soft voice says “Permissions granted.” and Pearl sits him down. She starts tapping something in on the screen, and the doors close as the train speeds off. 

“Well free the gem powering this soon, but Indicolite is right. It’s much less conspicuous to travel by train.” 

After their short train ride back to level 10, they stop of in Steven’s housing. “Okay! So, Lapis! Pearl and I are going to free the other Crystal Gems. You in to help?”

Lapis frowns, sending an awkward glance to Pearl. “Yeah… I guess I am.” 

“Great! Now! The rest of you! It’s time to start freeing other gems! Can you do it? Just anywhere you see a gem trapped powering something, you set them free, and explain the situation! Try and get them to help- But don’t be pushy. Remember you’re  _ asking _ them to help! Indicolite is going to have gems doing the same thing on the other levels very soon!” All of the gems agree, and Steven grins. “Oh, and could someone pass that along to Howlite too? We’re kinda in a bit of a hurry!”

“What are we doing about Peridot?” Lapis murmurs quietly, glancing over at the teary-eyed Peridot- still tied up with a washcloth in her mouth. 

Steven fliches. “Just… Just leave her there.” He turns away from Peridot. “L-let’s go.” Steven hurries back out of the building and waits in the train for Lapis and Pearl, who get there a moment later than him. 

“It’ll be okay Steven.” Pearl murmurs. “We’ll… We’ll figure out what to do about Peridot later. She’s just as much a victim as any other worker class gem…”

“I know! That’s what makes it so hard!” He takes a deep breath. “But we need to focus on freeing our friends.” Pearl nods, and starts the train. Steven watches in silence as the purple and gold stone lights up, and scowls. He jumps to his feet, and hurls his shield  _ hard _ at the ceiling next to gem and it crashes through the ceiling, knocking the gem lose and bringing the train car to a slow stop. “Sorry. I just couldn’t take the idea of using that poor gem anymore. Lapis can fly us down.” 

The white light of the train car gem reforming is far brighter and more pleasant than the dim white light shining on Amethyst in her cell many levels below. 

“This sucks.” She mutters leaning against the wall. 

“Hush Amethyst.” Sapphire says cheerfully. Amethyst sits bolt upright, staring wide-eyed in the direction of Sapphire’s cell. 

“What are you so happy about? We’re all but guaranteed to be sentenced to death, and you sound  _ happy _ . What’s your problem?” Amethyst grumbles, crossing her arms.

“Oh, I have no problem Amethyst.” Sapphire chirps, and Amethyst grimaces.

“You hear it too, right Ruby? She sounds cheerful!”

“Yeah. I hear it. Sapph, what’s up? There’s absolutely  _ nothing _ to be cheerful about here.”

“I would disagree.” She starts humming to herself, and Amethyst groans. 

“It’s official! She’s lost it! Sapphire has officially lost her mind”

Ruby sighs. “I wish… I really, really wish I could disagree with you, but she doesn’t usually show this much emotion  _ at all _ let alone being  _ happy  _ in a place like this.” There’s a thud- probably Ruby punching the wall. “Maybe we’d be better off if we go go crazy like her. I’d give  _ anything _ to be happy right now.”

It’s silent for a moment with the exception of Sapphire’s cheery humming. Listening to it just annoys Amethyst more. “OH FOR THE LOVE OF- WHAT ARE YOU EVEN HUMMING!?”

She stops. “Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.” She laughs. “And there’s absolutely no need to shout Amethyst.”

“WHY ARE YOU SO HAPPY!?”

“Why not?”

Ruby groans and Amethyst sputter incoherently. “You-I-This-not-no-I-ARRGH!” Amethyst punches the wall. “I AM SO SICK OF ALL OF THIS!?” Sapphire has returned to humming, and tears prick at Amethyst’s eyes. What is  _ wrong _ with her? Why is she acting like this!? Amethyst glares in the general direction of Sapphire’s cell. “This is just weird. She’s lost her mind. And If  _ Sapphire _ of all gems goes crazy, then you know the situation is bad.” Amethyst wipes tears from her eyes, fighting back sobs. “This isn’t right.” She breaks down in tears. “This… This just isn’t fair! Why’d Sapphire lose her mind first!? Why?!”

“If I had to guess, it’s because of her Future Vision. She probably saw one too many horrifying futures, and she just… Broke.” Soft sobbing comes from Ruby’s cell. “Which doesn’t bode well for us.”

The full implications of that crash over Amethyst like a ton of bricks. “Oh. Oh. Oh no. Oh no. We… We’re never… We’re never ever g-getting out of here alive.”

Her shoulders shake with sobs, and she  _ almost _ doesn’t hear the soft  _ “Oh.” _ of a familiar voice she thought she’d never hear again. “Great! Now I’m losing mind! I could of  _ sworn _ I just heard Pearl.”

“You… You did Amethyst. And aren't you’re giving up a bit too soon?” Pearl steps in front of Amethyst’s cell, completely whole and very much alive. 

Amethyst jolts to her feet, not quite believe what she’s seeing. “P? Is… Is that really you?” Pearl nods silently, doing something to the wall next to Amethyst’s cell.

“You three are  _ late _ .” Sapphire says, almost sounding like she’s scolding them. 

“Sorry!” Steven’s voice-  _ STEVEN- _ chirps from somewhere out of sight. “Our train got delayed. My bad.” 

The field in front of Amethyst’s cell drops and she steps out slowly watching as her friends step out as well. She dashes to hug Steven- who looks unharmed, if goofy, in a white and pink get-up with a hole in his shirt to show his gem. “You’re okay Steven! We were so worried about you!” She sits him down and slowly turns to looks at Pearl. “Good to see you’re not dead.” She mutters. “And that you can think for yourself again.

“Oh… Amethyst…” Pearl sighs, crossing her arms, looking uncomfortable. “I always could. It was a ploy. I knew, with how closely connected I was personally to Rose, the only way I had a chance to survive was to pretend none of it was by my own will.”

Amethyst blinks several times as she processes this. “You… you… YOU WERE  **FAKING** THE ENTIRE TIME!? I TRIED TO COMFORT YOU PEARL! AND THE WHOLE TIME YOU WERE JUST FINE!? WHAT THE HELL!?”

Tears well up in Pearl’s eyes and she looks away. “I’m… I’m  _ sorry _ . It was the only thing I could think of to do. There… There was no getting all of us out just then. I was relying on the slim chance that I could convince them I wasn’t so  _ defective _ that the only reasonable thing to do was harvest me… So I couldn’t say a thing. Not a single word. And I’m sorry, but they were listening. They… probably still are. I imagine we’ll be leaving to some opposition…”

As if on cue the dim hallway lights up bright red and a warning sound goes off. A moment later a voice sounds from everywhere, Steven, Pearl, and  _ Lapis, _ flinching at it. “ATTENTION ALL UNITS. ATTENTION ALL UNITS. THERE IS A JAILBREAK OF HIGH SECURITY PRISONERS ONGOING AS WELL AS AN UPRISING. ALL GEMS TO BATTLESTATIONS. I REPEAT. ALL GEMS TO BATTLESTATIONS.” The nasally message starts repeating itself.

Ruby scowls and dashes towards Sapphire, twirling her around, and in an instant flash of brilliant, swirling light, Garnet is back. She cracks her knuckles. “Alright Crystal Gems. I think that’s our cue to get out of here!”

Amethyst glares at Pearl. “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you.” Pearl flinches, and they leave the negative levels, fighting off several gems along the way.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! In this, and the next 3 chapters after it, the POV will jump around. A lot. As before I tried to make the switches clear, but with it still flowing smoothly! Hope you like it! Gosh, hard to believe the story is almost over… Oh! And credit to my VERY AWESOME friend Captain Infinity for his help on the fight scenes. He’s the fight scene coordinator for a reason.*

### Chapter 19

#### We are the Crystal Gems

Indicolite drags Steven up to the front of the crowds of gems with her. “Trust me, they want to see you up here Steven. Just you being a part of this is a huge boost to morale.”

“Okay! But there’s no need to pull!” He yanks his hand out of hers. “I can walk on my own.” He follows her the rest of the way. She stops, standing proudly in front of the congregation of gems, Steven awkwardly hovering at her side.

“Gems of the Pink Diamond Allegiance and recently freed gems of like-minded virtue! It is time, at last, for us to make our stand against the heinous and corrupt Diamond Council, and end their oppressive rule once and for all!” The crowds cheer at Indicolite’s words, and Steven laughs nervously, searching for his friends, finding them clustered together way in the back. “As of now we will no longer live in fear! The Rebellion is being brought to their turf! No longer are we just the Pink Diamond Allegiance, a group of dissidents doing nothing more than heckling them from below!” The crowds fall eerily silent. “We are the new Crystal Army! AND THE DIAMOND COUNCIL WILL FALL!” The crowd roars its approval, and Steven smiles. Indicolite sure knows how to inspire people. 

As Indicolite starts splitting gems up into groups and appointing leaders and whatnot- Steven will gladly leave the military strategy to Indicolite, though Pearl seem to be hurrying over to help- he makes his way to Connie, remembering something he brushed off before. “Hey. I have an idea.” 

“Oh. Hi Steven. I had no idea Indicolite was so… Passionate about this. She always seemed reserved and pessimistic. Turns out she’s a real firebrand rebel leader after all.” Connie chuckles. “What’s your idea? I just sort of figured we’d join a squad and kick some butt.”

Steven shakes his head. “No, no. I mean yeah, probably later. But I want your help. I know a place that has  _ a bunch _ more gems that need freeing, but it’ll probably be dangerous.”

“Steven, just spit it out. Where are we going?” Connie crosses her arms. 

“Blue Diamond’s labs. There are tons of trapped gems there that need our help.” He frowns, staring at the ground. “I stumbled into a room completely filled with bubbled gems back when I went there, and I get the feeling that they’re not corrupted gems.”

Connie nods. “We’ll go save them Steven.” She grins. “I mean come on, it’s me and you, not even Blue Diamond stands a chance.”

Steven smiles and nods, and the two kids slip away to find Lion. 

A hand grabs Lapis’ shoulder, and she spins around coming face to face with Indicolite. “What do you do Blue? I need to know where to assign you. What’s your weapon? Any special abilities? Things like that. I know you’re the one who brought Steven here, but beyond that I have no clue who you are, and Pearl is too busy arguing with Amethyst to help with this one.”

Lapis laughs nervously. “Uh. It’s Lapis. Lapis Lazuli.” She holds out a hand for a handshake, but drops it after a moment. “I… don’t have a standard weapon. I summon wings made of water. As for special abilities…Hydrokinesis. On a planetary level. I used to serve as a water transportation specialist in kindergarten and colony set up. I’ll need water if I want to be effective in combat.”

Indicolite raises her eyebrows. “Well then! I think it’s obvious what you need to do Blue. Go. To. Water.”

“Yeah, but water is a much scarcer resource here than on Earth, and it’s  _ strictly _ controlled by Blue Diamond.” Lapis crosses her arms. “I feel like I’m almost powerless here. I’m not really much use.”

Indicolite snickers. “Not really much use? You’re kidding right? First of all, easy flight is  _ never _ something to scoff at, so even if you didn’t have water we could easily have you as air support, dropping  _ bombs _ down on the enemy from above.” She smirks. “But there is a very  _ easy _ place for you to get water. It’s there. It always has been. I can’t really think of a time when it wasn’t…”

“Oh! Oh! Duh! The fountain.” Lapis smacks her hand on her forehead with a groan. “Ugh, I feel like such a fool. How did I  _ not _ think of the  _ fountain _ ! I am  _ really _ bad at plans. Aaaaa.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not a whole lot of water, but I imagine it’s enough that it’s useful for you.” She whistles slowly. “Planetary Hydrokinesis huh? I get the feeling you used to be someone important.”

Lapis nods. “You could say that. But then I was trapped in a mirror on Earth for thousands of years, and I’m… I’m fairly certain at this point that I was only allowed to live because I showed up with Steven.”

“Make ‘em pay for putting you in that mirror. It’s about time they get what’s coming to them.” Indicolite smiles and walks away, slowing down as she nears the still bickering Amethyst and Pearl. 

“Amethyst! I don’t understand why you're complaining! You and Garnet are going to be fighting together!” Amethyst scowls at Pearl, and Indicolite cuts across as she was walking by.

“Are you two  _ really _ still fighting? You’re wasting time! Both of you have places to be! Pearl, I have a group of lower class gems waiting for you, because boy do they need your help. And maybe a bit of confidence from seeing how skilled you are. Amethyst. Garnet is waiting for you.”

Pearl nods and follows Indicolite off to wherever, leaving Amethyst alone to look for Garnet. Amethyst scoffs, kicking at the dusty ground. Stupid Pearl always thinking she knows what to do and that she’s so  _ perfect  _ and can do no wrong _. _ Well screw her…”

“There you are Amethyst. Groups are already heading up. Figured we should too. Don’t want to miss out on all the action.”

“Oh, yeah… You know, I really missed you Garnet. Would it be rude to say that Ruby and Sapphire can be a bit… Annoying?”

Garnet fiddles with her visor. “Very. Let’s head up.” Much to Amethyst’s surprise Garnet pick her up and carries her up into the city- no squirming on Amethyst’s part getting her put down- and straight into a group of Yellow Diamond’s soldiers. Apparently, they had been waiting.

Amethyst summons her whip, smirking at Garnet. “Oh man, this is gonna be fuuuuuun!” Amethyst runs headlong at the assembled group of gems, before quickly flipping into a somersault and forming a massive spinning wheel of purplish-white hair, hitting the platoon and knocking them over like so many bowling pins. The pair that manages to avoid the assault turn about for a counterattack against Amethyst, only to be suddenly distracted by a gentle tapping on their shoulders, and a not-so-gentle pair of gauntlets to the face. With the first platoon defeated, Amethyst cheers. “Maaaan, that was  _ easy _ .” She then immediately frowns, her eyebrows drawing together in concern when Garnet doesn’t share her elation. “There’s more of them behind me, isn’t there?”

“Nope” Right at that moment, a nearby building’s doors burst open, a new squad of Yellow Diamond’s soldiers pouring out. “But now there is.”

“...Future vision is weird.” Amethyst shrugs, before running alongside her friend into another spree of combat.

Elsewhere on the mostly peaceful 10th level- a sharp contrast to the fight slowly spreading through the lower levels- Peridot sits in the darkness of Steven’s housing, awaiting rescue, hoping that they send  _ anyone _ other than- the sound of the front door breaking in half crushes Peridot’s hope.  _ Jasper. _

The large burly gem enters the room looking angry, then again Jasper almost always looks angry, but she bursts out laughing seeing Peridot’s predicament. “Hah. I knew they had you trapped, but I didn’t think it was with something as mundane as rope.”

“Would you just shut up and untie me!? I can’t get the knot, even with my fingers free. The pearl is REALLY good with knots.” Peridot snaps, glaring fixedly past Jasper. Oh, why did it have to be  _ Jasper _ who came to her rescue? Why couldn’t it be Yellow Diamond? At least then she’d  _ actually _ die instead of simply wanting to.

“Now, now. Watch the attitude runt. Betcha you aren’t so proud of your limb enhancers now…” She snickers, breaking the rope apart, not even bothering to try and undo the knot. “Honestly, you’re such a failure. You’re job was to keep an eye on the brat and keep him out of trouble, and he started a rebellion right under your nose!”

“I reported every single incident! If anyone is to blame it’s Yellow Diamond for not taking me seriously!” Peridot gets to her feet, glaring at the floor. “I report the  _ Lion _ and I get laughed out of the room. The human girl that stowed away on  _ your _ ship, I’m told to stop kidding. The defective pearl’s behavior, I’m told they already  _ know _ she’s defective, but she’s not so defective that she’ll cause a problem. The defective Pearl teaching the human girl sword fighting I’M LAUGHED OUT OF THE ROOM AGAIN! So I don’t see how  _ any _ of this is my fault.”

“Watch yourself Peridot. It sounds like you’re coming dangerously close to insulting the Diamonds there. It’s your fault because you didn’t actually do anything to stop it.”

“Actually I did. Hence me getting tied up. They had me outnumbered and thoroughly outclassed. I’m not a combat gem after all…”

Jasper snorts. “That’s pathetic. Don’t you have blasters or something?”

“They couldn’t do anything effective with Steven’s shield as part of the mess.” Peridot crosses her arms, still glaring at the floor.

“Excuses, excuses, excuses! You’re just a pathetic failure, and these excuses aren’t convincing me otherwise.”

Peridot fights back tears, her fingers curling into a geometric facsimile of fists. “Can we just go. Yellow issued a bulletin that every able gem of hers in the city is to fight the resistance.”

“Well, duh. But after this blunder, I’m not so sure you’re able.” She cackles, and leaves, Peridot trailing after, sending a sad look around the housing unit before leaving. 

Just a few floors below on level 7 Pearl has gradually lost more and more of the group she’s supposed to be leading as time passes. Only three of them are left, and they were all working class under Yellow Diamond. She twirls around, taking out a gem that almost got one of the three from behind with a single easy slash, when a cold malevolent laugh sends a shiver down her spine. 

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my old defective creation.”

Pearl turns around slowly, locking eyes with the white Gem, a blue diamond emblazoned on her shirt. She levels her spear at her. “I never expected to see you here, White Jade. I thought you never left level 5. What, your  _ mad science lab _ get taken over?”

White Jade narrows her eyes. “You know, I remember that day. The very first day that batch of pearls formed. I picked you out in an  _ instant _ from that line. You looked far too intelligent. But you played the part well at first, trying to avoid suspicion, which, really is just another testament to your intelligence. You  _ knew _ right from the start that you needed to play a part. I almost didn’t want to harvest you. You were an entertaining curiosity. No wonder Pink Diamond scooped you up so quickly. Most intelligent defect I’d ever seen…” She chuckles. “However, even in all of that, you’re still just a pearl. You’re nothing more than a servant, and that’s all you’ll ever be.” She twists a gem destabilizer in her hands- Pearl’s already lost too many gems to those things… “I mean, seriously, look at you now. Even in her death you’re  _ still _ serving Pink Diamond.” 

Pearl scowls, glaring hard at the white Gem and gripping her spear tightly. “ _ Just _ a pearl? Just? You… you’re kidding, right? Yes, I am a pearl. Yes, you made me. But guess what, I’m not  _ just _ anything. I’m Pearl. Second in command of the original Crystal Gems, and survivor of the thousand year war for Earth, so if you’re trying the frighten me, it’s not going to work!” She sends an energy blast at White Jade’s hands, causing her to drop the deadly weapon, and runs over- crushing the destabilizer underfoot- and, on the same toe, spins around in a pirouette, poofing the arrogant gem with one slash of her spear, the gem clattering quietly to the ground. “ _ That _ is what you get for underestimating me…”

All the way down on level one, Indicolite and Morganite find themselves utterly surrounded. “Hey, Morgan, guess they decided we were high-priority targets.” She smirks at Morganite over her shoulder, her staff in hand, the flat star tip ablaze with bluish flames.

Morganite adjusts her grip on her massive pink warhammer with decorative hearts on the head. “Oh, don’t flatter me! That’s probably just you Indi. You’ve been a high priority target for a while.”

“Yes I have. Are you ready to show them why  _ you _ should be a high priority target as well?” 

Morganite giggles. “You betcha!”

The light pink gem jumps high into the air in a massive backflip. Back on the ground, Indicolite points her staff straight forward and spins on her heel, a massive jet of blue flame forming a great ring of fire around her, barring her attackers from entry. A mere moment later, Morganite comes crashing back down, hammer first, into the centre of the ring. A massive shockwave resonates across the ground, cracking the road and sending the fire surging forth in all directions, the ludicrously potent flames enveloping and poofing the entire army surrounding them. Once the -literal- smoke clears, Indicolite wipes her brow. “Good job partn-urk!” She’s cut off, immediately being smothered in a bear hug by Morganite.

“That. Was. AWESOOOOOOME!!!”

High above everything, in the grand and imposing Diamond Palace, White Diamond watches with cold eyes as her city crumbles into anarchy. “This is unacceptable.” She hisses under her breath, turning her dark glare at the other two Diamonds, Blue looking bored and Yellow seething with rage. 

“HOW  _ DARE _ THEY!?” Yellow screams, stomping her foot so hard it cracks the floors. “How  _ dare _ they even have the  _ gall _ to try and challenge us on  _ our _ turf. This isn’t just some colony that Pink is throwing a hissy fit over! THIS IS HOMEWORLD!  **_OUR_ ** **HOMEWORLD!!!** HOW  **DARE** THEY!” She snarls. “We should have just killed that boy the moment he set foot on the planet’s surface!” She takes a deep breath. “We need to respond immediately with overwhelming force. This calls for us- ALL OF US- to go into the fray. Not only must we crush them into  _ powder _ , we must make it VERY clear that this kind of thing will NEVER be tolerated again.”

“Yes…” White mutters, glaring down out the window again, her hand resting on the window’s frame and silently crushing it in her iron grip, getting a psychotic grin from Yellow, and a wide startled gaze from Blue. “This need to be dealt with swiftly, forcefully, and without mercy.” She lets out a slow breath, looking through slitted eyes at her longtime friend Blue Diamond. “I know it’s been awhile since you and I have been in combat, Blue, but even out of practice we’re probably better than anyone else out there.”

Blue Diamond nods slowly, her eyes still very wide. “Fine. But… I’m stopping by my labs first. I have a great many weapons that could be useful, and I’d rather them be in our hands than leaving them where they're in risk of falling into the hands of the enemy.”

“That’s fine with me. Do whatever you wish. I only have but one request.  _ Leave Pink Diamond to  _ _ me _ . I want to see the look on his face when his pathetic human form  _ dies slowly _ on the end of my spear. Maybe if I’m lucky the  _ real  _ Pink Diamond will regenerate and I’ll have the pleasure of killing her too. Blood and diamond dust, what a charming image indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * … and the chief diamond crazifier for a reason too. “Blood and diamond dust, what a charming image indeed.” Did not come out of my mind, that’s for sure. I swear that guy is one lab accident away from being a supervillian.


	21. Chapter 20: We’ll always save the day!

### Chapter 20

#### We’ll always save the day!

Peridot trudges slowly behind Jasper, her head ducked, the city a meaningless chaotic blur around her. She… She did the right thing. She did! She reported them and raised the alarm as quickly as she possibly could. She did everything she could to protect Homeworld and serve Yellow Diamond… So why are tears welling up in her eyes? Why does it feel so wrong? She scowls, internally cursing having ever been reassigned. Had she never been assigned to Steven he wouldn’t have gotten to her like this. She  _ shouldn’t _ care what happens to him. He’s a traitor. But… She  _ does _ . She’s hoping that when this is all over, he at least gets away, which is an absolutely treasonous thought.

Jasper wrenches her shoulder by yanking on her arm roughly. “Peridot, look! That’s Lapis Lazuli! Shoot her out of the sky!” Peridot looks up slowly at Lapis, who’s frozen in the air and staring down at her with wide eyes. “That’s an order Peridot!” 

Peridot raises her arm, her fingers forming into their blaster, but hesitates as the energy ball forms. For a moment, she’s stuck, staring up at Lapis, at her  _ friend _ . Right before the blaster goes off she whirls, turning it on her burly companion. “And  _ this _ is a mutiny!” Out of the corner of her eye she sees Lapis fly away, but is  _ quickly _ preoccupied by Jasper grabbing onto her arm, her face twisted with rage. Flinching, Peridot tugs feebly against Jasper’s iron grip, before, in an act of desperation, she disconnects her limb enhancer on that arm, revealing her much shorter real arm. Using her remaining arm enhancer she helicopters into the air, just in time for Jasper to grab ahold of both of her legs. With a groan she disconnects both of her legs, just barely evading Jasper grabbing her  _ real _ legs as she zooms off, into the horizon, the sound of Jasper roaring in anger fading into the distance. 

Lapis touches down on the top of the dome, the area completely overrun with Yellow Diamond’s soldiers. She chuckles, raising both hands into the air, and the water bursts through the glass of the dome, shattering it all around Lapis and bathing her in a myriad spray of chromatic dust, the glass shards taking out several gems, and getting the attention of all the rest. 

A tall wide shouldered orange gem, with a spiked ball flail in hand and whose shirt is emblazoned with a Yellow Diamond steps up and glares skyward at the blue gem above. “Well, if it isn’t Lapis Lazuli. I was wondering how long it would take our traitorous little water gem to make her way here.” 

“Do I know you?” Lapis smirks. “Because to me you seem to be just another faceless quartz in Yellow Diamond’s army.”

“You little brat! I’m a high ranking commander in Yellow Diamond’s army! And you will show me  _ respect _ !” She tries to jump up to Lapis on top of the dome, only to be knocked back by a torrent of water that quickly forms into a watery clone of the gem.

“Ooooh.  _ Right _ . I remember you. You’re Citrine, the gem who always thinks of herself as a higher rank than she really is, even when she first emerged from her Kindergarten.” Lapis laughs, watching as Citrine struggles to pass the clone of herself, only to be held in an armlock. “What was that? Two colonies before Earth? I guess you could be high ranking by now, but I bet you don’t live any higher than level 6.” A number of other gems start climbing the now glassless dome, only to be knocked down by a whirlpool centered around Lapis. “Nice try losers.” She pulls more water up from the fountain, where a steady but slow stream started to refill it after Lapis forcefully threw all of the water out. Water duplicates of Citrine form a circle around the dome.

“You stupid brat! Where was this fighting spirit back in the war!?” Citrine splits the water clone she was fighting in half, and it becomes two more water clones of her. “UGH! I’M GOING TO GRIND YOU INTO DUST!”

“You’d have to come and get me first!” Lapis sticks her tongue out at Citrine, who roars, struggling against the two water clones. 

The spinning waves of water in the center of the city can be seen almost everywhere, including by Pearl and her three gems on level 7, where they’re currently outnumbered 10 to 4, but are getting by plenty well. Pearl smirks. “Guess that’s Lapis.”

One of her gems glances nervously at her- just missing being hit. “Is that on our side? Please say yes!”

Pearl nods, and opens her mouth to speak when someone softly clears their throat, and  everyone freezes. She turns around slowly, watching as the attacking gems surrounding her immediately part to let  _ White Diamond  _ through. 

“Well, if it isn’t Pink’s pearl. When I heard you were here, I was hoping your master would be as well. But I can see that’s not the case.” She pauses with an melodramatic sigh. “Nevertheless, it would bring me great joy to present him with the shards of your gem before I  _ kill _ him. Blood, dust, and tears. Ha! I should’ve been an artist.” She chuckles. “So, I suppose it’s time to see how well Pink Diamond trained her soldier pearl. Let this be the dance of death.”

Pearl scowls at White Diamond. “The dance of death? Well, if that’s how you want it…” Pearl charges forward slashing at White Diamond’s side with her spear- not harming her but definitely setting her off balance- and twirling away, all before White Diamond can do so much as summon her own weapon, just barely managing to parry a blow that would’ve solidly connected with the royal gem’s face.   “ _ I’ll lead _ .” 

Regaining her footing, White Diamond scowls. “That was a lucky hit, little whelp!” She draws her own spear whilst charging full speed at Pearl, who jumps asides, sweeping one leg back and landing on her toes, her feet crossed. 

Pearl smirks. “Was that a lucky dodge as well?” She twirls around, jabbing White in the back with her spear, then sliding out of the way before the off balance White Diamond can even turn around to hope to hit her. “Don’t flatter yourself, White. You’re out of practice in battle, while I’ve been constantly fighting corrupted gems on Earth for over 5000 years. You might just be biting off a bit more that you can chew.” 

White Diamond snarls and hurls her spear at Pearl, which she easily dodges, bending over, her fingers brushing against the ground, before rising with a twirl and sending an energy blast from her spear at White Diamond. White Diamond stumbles back, grunting, and charges forward towards Pearl, summoning another spear and making a blind thrust in her general direction. 

Pearl chuckles and jumps on the outstretched spear,  _ flipping onto White Diamond’s shoulders _ , and over her, slashing across her back again before pirouetting away out of White Diamond’s reach again.

All the gems around- ally and enemy alike- have stopped and are watching this fight in awe. White Diamond roars, whirling around, her face twisted into a snarl. “HOLD STILL YOU STUPID WHELP! YOU ARE A SERVANT! DO WHAT I COMMAND!”

Pearl smirks, spinning her spear in her hand. “I’d rather not.”

Elsewhere on the same level the other two Crystal Gems are arguing in an otherwise deserted street. “Garnet! You can’t just run off on me!”

“I have to go. If I don’t Blue Diamond will catch Steven and Connie.” Garnet starts to walk away again, and Amethyst chases her, running around in front. 

“Okay! Okay! Then I’ll go with you.”

Garnet shakes her head. “You need to stay here.”

Amethyst groans, crossing her arms, but lets Garnet pass her by. “Garnet’s the boss…” She mutters under her breath. 

Loud forceful footsteps echo down the empty street, and Amethyst ducks into an alley. “Who could White be fighting that she feels the need to send a distress signal? How out of practice could she be that one of these losers are actually giving her trouble…” Yellow Diamond storms right past Amethyst, and Amethyst gasps.

“You know.” Amethyst whispers under her breath. “Sometimes Garnet’s too good to me.” Whoever is giving White Diamond trouble won’t have to worry about Yellow Diamond too- Not if she can help it! Ducking out of the alley for a brief instant, she summons her whip, swinging it out to wrap around Yellow Diamond’s middle and yank her back this way, and throwing her a little ways past the alley Amethyst is hiding in. Taking a deep breath Amethyst quickly scales the building, and intentionally into sight of Yellow Diamond. “HEY! YELLOW!” 

Yellow- who was looking around wildly for her attacker, quickly looks up at Amethyst standing on a window ledge. “YOU!?” She pulls her sword from her gem, scowling. “This will be quick.”

Jumping up what must  _ easily _ be a ten story building, Yellow Diamond crashes into the roof, a few feet away from Amethyst. The furious yellow gem holds her blade out towards the defiant warrior. “Any last words, runt?” She sneers at her adversary.

“Yeah.” Amethyst swings her arm out, her whip wrapping effortlessly around the claymore in Yellow Diamond’s hands. “Got your sword!” For a solid twenty seconds, the two battle-hardened warriors are reduced to the military intelligence of two children playing tug-of-war. The only difference being only Amethyst is having any fun.

“You… Grr…. Little… RUNT! GIVE ME MY SWORD!” Yellow Diamond roars, attempting to wrench her blade free.

“Okay, you asked for it.” Immediately, Amethyst dismisses her whip, right as Yellow Diamond makes one last desperate pull, the sound of metal meeting face and a sudden bludgeoning pain being her reward for her troubles.

“Gah! Why you little- GEEZE that hurt!” Yellow Diamond grips her face, attempting to realign what appears to be a broken nose.

“Ready for round two?” Amethyst crosses her arms and smiles, holding back a chuckle at how utterly off-balance she’s made the supposed high commander of the Homeworld armies.

With a crack signifying the success of Yellow’s impromptu resetting, the statuesque warrior points her blade at Amethyst once more, this time keeping the blade a great deal closer to herself.

“ _ Unbelievably _ ” She runs at the defective quartz, Amethyst quickly ducking under her. As the two adversaries begin to face off once more, it’s clear neither of them is going  _ anywhere _ any time soon.

A portal opens right inside Blue Diamond’s lab building as Steven and Connie crash through on Lion’s back, giggling. “That was so COOL how you took out that  _ HUGE _ gem Connie! It was just like -SLASH- and -POOF- and was so totally AWESOME!”

Connie chuckles. “That’s what she gets for trying to stop us from getting to Lion. Now, where exactly are these bubbled gems?”

“Uuuuuuum.” Steven looks around, and points at one of the dozen doors in the room. “That way.” Steven and Connie make their way through the lab, Steven leading to the section where he stumbled into the bubble room from. He grabs her hand and pulls her to the glass box against the wall. “There’s some way to open it…”

Connie shrugs. “We probably don’t have time to figure it out, Steven.” With no further debate, she pulls out her sword, and shatters the glass with it. “That works, right?”

Steven nods slowly, and steps into the box, careful not to hurt himself on the broken glass, and Connie does the same thing. “And we  _ should _ be able to go through this wall…” Steven pushes his hands against the wall, leaning forward, and after a moment he slips through the wall with all the resistance of loose fabric to stop him- just like before- and Connie follows him immediately into the high-vaulted room.  

She looks up at the bubbles above them, her mouth agape. “Woah. This room must be as tall as the building itself. It’s… It’s at  _ least _ 4 stories. Maybe more… And that’s  _ a lot _ of bubbles.”

“The building has 6 floors.” Steven murmurs. “We have to get these bubbles out of here! This room is too small for them all to reform inside it.”

“Well, if we went one or two at a time…” Connie murmurs, reaching up and grabbing the nearest bubble. There’s a massive crash in the lab just beyond, and both the kids wince. “We… don’t have time to worry about that.”

Just outside of the room full of bubbles, Blue Diamond stands slowly from having been sent flying into one of her tables. “Filthy war machine…” She mutters darkly, getting to her feet, glaring hard at Garnet. “Do you  _ really _ think you stand a chance against me?”

Garnet smirks, crossing her arms. “Yes. Yes I do.” 

Blue Diamond scoffs. “Then you’re even more arrogant than my dear ‘ _ friend’ _ White Diamond. Because you, little Permafusion, have entered  _ my _ domain.” Her screen floats up in front of her from a nearby table, and she taps it once, and four blasts of energy are sent towards Garnet.

Garnet has already ducked clear of the assault before the four auto turrets even have time to fully rev up, their initial blasts impacting with each other and causing them to violently combust in unison. “Turrets. How cliche.” Garnet stands and readjusts her visor, as Blue Diamond gives the reddish-purple gem a look that is a mix of confusion, astonishment, and mild embarrassment.

“Well then. I guess I’ll have to get serious.” With a few more swift keystrokes, four steel boxes on a nearby table fold outwards to reveal a quartet of aerial helicopter drones, each one fashioned with a wicked looking laser pistol on the front. In an instant, Garnet is on the move, ducking behind a desk and toppling it in order to block the initial volley of shot. Thinking fast, and seeing faster, Garnet grabs what appears to be a rack of test tubes at her side and throws it, not at where the drone is, but where it is going to be, striking it in such a way that it turns and fires its shot at another adjacent drone, before spiralling out impotently and exploding off in a corner of the lab. Jumping up and out of her hiding place, Garnet rushes at the last two drones, parrying both of their assaults with well timed blocks from her gauntlets, so well timed, in fact, that she manages to deflect one of the shots from the drone on her left into the one on the right, causing it to explode in midair. Done with all pretense of strategy, the tall, powerful gem simply grabs the final drone in both hands and spins it around, before hurling it straight at Blue Diamond, who barely has enough time to duck out of the way, with the flying attack droid exploding close enough for shrapnel bits to embed themselves in her circular hairdo. 

“That was… Impressive. But let’s see how you handle THIS!” The Diamond smirks, tapping triumphantly on her touchpad… Only for it to do nothing. Glaring down at the unresponsive screen, she taps it again, and again, and about a dozen times more before crying out in frustration, and crushing both ends of the projector in her grip, the screen fizzling out of existence between them. “Gah! What is happening to my lab!?” Blue Diamond grabs at her hair as even the  _ lights _ begin to flicker around her.

“Oh, nothing much. Just a prison break happening right under your nose.” Garnet smiles at the regal gem, arms crossed as she watches the intellectual slowly lose her cool.

“Why you!-” She sighs. “Very well, if you want something done right…” Blue Diamond slowly raises her hand to her forehead, gripping the hilt already flowing out of it, before pulling out her weapon in full, the massive war mace held menacingly at her side, before being brought up to point it at Garnet. “ _ You kill it yourself. _ ” She runs full tilt at the fusion gem, Garnet reciprocating, drawing her gauntlets just in time to give a right hook straight into the face of Blue Diamond’s swinging morningstar.

A sudden loud ringing sound is all the indication of the fight outside as Steven and Connie- with some effort- reach and free the final bubbled gem and step out into the lab- which looks like a tornado came through with how damaged it is- buzzing with the gems they’ve freed, every light flickering out the moment the final bubble leaves the small room. Connie pops it as she did all the rest and, after a moment, it forms as well. 

Steven clears his throat. “Hello freed gems of Blue Diamonds Lab! I’m Steven Universe! You probably have all heard of my mom Pink Diamond!”

Excited murmurs break out among the gems. “Today we’re tearing down the Diamond council and freeing every trapped gem we can. You don’t have to help fight, but we would  _ really _ appreciate it!”

The gems all roar with with approval, and Steven shared a startled but overjoyed look with Connie. “Okay! Then you should all report to Indicolite down on level 1! She’ll help you guys figure out what you can do to help! Tell her I sent you!” En masse the gems start to leave, and Steven laughs, sweeping Connie off her feet and spinning her around excitedly.

Connie laughs, hugging Steven as he spins her around in the air, and his gem glows. In an instant of twirling light, Steven and Connie are gone, replaced by a teenaged-looking fusion with brown skin and long wavy dark hair. They blink several times, patting down their body, and pulling on their hair. They laugh exuberantly. “Woah! Steven! Connie!” They laugh again. “I’m a fusion! I didn’t even know Steven- I? I didn’t know I could fuse! This is gr-great! Oh my gosh” They pull on their hair again. “I’m a fusion. I’m seriously a fusion! Woah! I’m gonna kick butt!” They unsheath Connie’s sword and summon Steven’s shield. “This is gonna be  _ awesome _ .”

 


	22. Chapter 21: If you think we can’t

### Chapter 21

#### If you think we can’t

White Diamond- her eyes wide and crazed- thrusts her spear again, Pearl just barely spinning away from the manic attack. 

Pearl smirks at White Diamond, but internally she’s on edge. White Diamond’s composure has been crumbling, but the more off balance she gets, the more wild, unpredictable, and ferocious her attacks become, which actually makes her a tougher opponent for Pearl to fight. 

A large crowd has surrounded the two, made of rebel and Homeworld Gems alike, and they’re all watching in utter silence. Pearl has yet to even be hit by White Diamond, but at the same time, Pearl’s many hits on White Diamond have done very little other than infuriate the taller gem and cause superficial damage to her clothing. 

Pearl ducks out of the way of another desperate lunge, bending low to the ground, sweeping her foot out behind her, and spinning back to standing, and slamming her spear into the back of White Diamond’s knees, knocking her over.

White Diamond snarls, and takes a page from Pearl’s book, sweeping her spear under Pearl’s feet knocking her down. Pearl crashes to the ground- to a chorus of gasps from the crowds- and just barely rolls out of the way of a downward thrust from White Diamond’s spear. She jumps to her feet, her mind now on escape- she can’t go on like this much longer, and White Diamond knows it.

White Diamond gets back to her feet, laughing maniacally. She hurls her spear at Pearl, who deftly catches it mid-air, spins around, and throws the long weapon back at it’s owner- causing the first cry of actual pain from White Diamond as the spear pierces her shoulder and vanishes. Pearl, using her distraction of summoning a new spear to its greatest advantage, darts through the crowd and escapes, White Diamond’s insults, as well as her spear, being hurled after her. 

Elsewhere, the Warmachine’s large gauntlets slam into Blue Diamond’s parrying spiked mace yet again, throwing her off balance and forcing her to take a step back. She seeths, utterly furious with herself at being barely able to keep this fusion at bay. She’s just a filthy Warmachine! An odd curiosity in her permanently fused fashion, but ultimately she shouldn’t be but a pest to someone such as Blue Diamond- AND QUITE THE PEST SHE IS. She swings her mace, only for its head to grabbed by the pest in one of her large gauntlets. 

_ Another _ ping from White Diamond sounds in her mind from their  _ emergency  _ messenger.  She scowls, yanking her mace free, and swinging it hard at the knees of the annoying Permafusion, finally managing to throw the stoic warrior off-balance and send her crashing to the ground. Taking the moment that Garnet is on the floor, she taps on the small device on her wrist, checking the many messages from White Diamond, one that’s a basic distress signal, marked as being handled by Yellow and many increasingly frantic messages to shut of the fountain and drain all water.

Before Blue Diamond can even raise a quizzical eyebrow at the nature of the messages, a gauntleted fist closes around Blue Diamond’s wrist, and slams her against the nearby wall, denting it greatly, but doing nothing more than annoying the azure gem embedded in it. Scowling, Blue Diamond turns it around, grabbing Garnet’s forearms and spinning around to slam  _ her _ into the wall, this time with enough force to trap the geometric gem a good few inches inside the structure. She makes a break across the room, grabbing a gem scanner, and prying it’s gem out to quickly install it in one of her tables in order to return some small amount of power to her lab. A few light lines flicker weakly on and Blue Diamond taps a few things on a panel on the table, shooting a metal wall across the entire room between her and the Warmachine. That should give her at least a few hours-*SLAM*... Minutes to act.

Darting over to a different panel in the table, Blue Diamond starts tapping in the commands to shut off and drain the fountain, utterly flabbergasted at the readouts it gives her in response to her queries. “That… Is far more water than is  _ supposed  _ to be there. Something is pulling it out, so it auto-fills… Or rather, some _ one _ .  _ Lapis Lazuli _ .” Blue Diamond sighs. Her ability was missed in Kindergarten set up. Producing a gem of that power wasn’t easy, and Blue never did get around to doing so again. It’s truly a shame that she’s sided with Pink Diamond’s equally traitorous son.

“I hope White Diamond leaves the boy’s body intact. I’d like to do a thorough autopsy, and it would be much easier with a structurally sound cadaver…” Blue mutters, adjusting a few dials and watching the water level drain on the screen embedded in the table.

There’s a loud metallic crunching noise, and seconds later the small amount of power that Blue Diamond restored flickers out as the Permafusion reaches over the royal g wrenches the gem out of the table. Letting out a slow breath, Blue Diamond used the Warmachine’s distraction with the reforming gem to locate the nearest doorway and bolt from the room. 

After only a short while of running, she skids to a stop, coming face to face with the most  _ bizarre _ thing Blue Diamond has ever seen. It... clearly has Pink Diamond’s gem, but it is also clearly not  _ Steven _ . It has rosy brown skin and is much taller than the boy. It’s hair is long, dark and wavy, and it’s facial features  _ resemble _ Steven’s, but not quite. It is wearing his clothing, though it is far too short for this  _ thing _ , and has a looser blue shirt over Steven’s as well as dark jacket with sleeves halfway down the forearm. Steven’s pants don’t even go to the knees of the thing, and there’s a darker material just poking out of the bottom of Steven’s pants. It’s holding a sword in one hand and Pink Diamond’s shield in the other.

It grins at Blue Diamond, and she quickly pulls a scanner out of her gem, scanning the  _ thing _ . Her scanner doesn’t know what to make of it. It scanned as a human at first, but then it pinged as a gem, and then proceeded to rapidly fluctuate between these two conclusions before fizzling into inactivity. Blue Diamond drops her scanner to quickly parry with her mace as it charges at her with the sword. 

“What… What ARE you!?” The scientific leader of Homeworld shouts as she shoves the attacking  _ thing _ back, utterly befuddled for what must’ve been the first time in  _ millennia _ .

“Uhhh… Well, that’s a… Tricky subject at the moment.” The creature shrugs, seemingly equally confused. It even slightly  _ sounds _ like Steven. But that doesn’t make any sense! Is it a fusion? No, no, that can’t possibly be it. The scanner, for all the good  _ it _ was, only registered one gem, not two, so how can- Blue Diamond’s increasingly complex train of thought is immediately derailed by the sudden flurry of sword blows swung at her from all directions by the thing attacking her. Blue Diamond, unaccustomed to such close range combat, is left on the defensive, forced to simply parry the incoming blows with the shaft of her mace, not actually damaging it, of course, but the clanging of metal so close to the scientific gem’s face was no less unsettling.

“ENOUGH OF THIS!” Blue Diamond forces the sword downwards along with her mace, struggling against the thing’s unbelievably massive strength, before finally gaining proper enough leverage to move the interlocked weapons in a counter-clockwise motion and fling the offending blade out of her enemy’s hand. The strange creature barely has time to react before its windpipe is promptly sealed closed by Blue Diamond’s free hand, the royal gem lifting the…  _ Whatever it is _ off its feet and a good ways into the air. “I don’t care WHAT you are! Because I know  **_exactly_ ** what you’re going to be in a few minutes.” She growls as she tightens her grip on the thing’s throat and levels her mace to the opposite side of her. “A CORPSE ON MY OPERATING TABLE!!!” With one swift motion, Blue Diamond releases her grip on the monstrosity, her mace slamming into the thing’s torso before it can even touch the ground. The  _ something _ flies across the hallway, crashing into the far-off wall. In a flash of light, the thing splits into the dual forms of Steven and a female human child. “IT  _ WAS _ A FUSION!?” Blue screeches, stumbling back. “WITH A  **_HUMAN_ ** !? HOW!?”

“I… Don’t really know.” Steven slowly rises to his feet, the human girl slowly rising with him.

“But what we do know.” The human girl levels her sword, and Steven resummons his shield.

“Is that WE are gonna  _ kick your butt _ !!!” The two shout in unison, before running at Blue Diamond together. Blue Diamond, having somewhat regained her footing, quickly retaliates, swinging her mace down onto Steven, who just barely lifts his shield in time to block it. The girl, on the other hand, futily strikes at the royal gem’s heels, her sword impotently clashing with Blue Diamond’s leg, and doing nothing more than shredding her pant leg slightly. Breathing an annoyed sigh, Blue Diamond kicks out one of her feet, catching Steven in the ribs and sending him skipping across the floor and into the nearby wall. Then, spinning on her heels, the aggravated scientist grabs the girl by the throat and raises her up again.

“You know, as much as I’d  _ love _ to study how the two of you can fuse…” Blue Diamond mutters as she slowly walks over to a nearby window. “I think I’m  _ done _ with fusions for today. Ta-ta, little girl.” With one deft motion, Blue Diamond hucks Connie out of the window, her shouts echoing across the courtyard as she disappears into the rapidly building cloud of dust and ash below, one of the many byproducts created as the lower levels  _ burn _ .

Blue Diamond turns a cold glare to Steven as he turns away from her and runs outside, staring, with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open, over the edge the human girl went over. “Connie…” He murmurs, tears welling up in his eyes. He whirls, his face twisted with anger as he looks daggers at the slowly approaching blue gem. “You…” Steven’s hands are clenched into fists at his sides and are shaking slightly. “You’re going to pay for that!”

Blue crosses her arms. “You’re just lucky I agreed to let White Diamond have you, Steven, and believe me, as much as I  _ loathe _ that gem, I have no interest in ticking her off.” She frowns, before marching off, faster than Steven, though she notices he does try to chase her to a certain extent, before losing hope and collapsing onto his knees, the faint sound of crying registering in Blue Diamond’s ears as she flees. 

In the center of the city, Lapis Lazuli suddenly finds her water attempting to pull away from her, and gradually it succeeds, swirling back into the fountain, whether she likes it or not, Blue Diamond apparently having thought to plan against this eventuality through some hydrokinetic technology of her own. “Darn it! Not good!” As her sole resource rapidly dwindles, she uses her last bit of water to create a small whirlpool around her, keeping the warriors away just long enough for her to fly away to safety. 

On the 7th floor a piece of a building comes crashing onto Yellow Diamond as the  _ runt _ hops from roof to roof, with Yellow chasing her from the ground level. She sticks her tongue out at the royal gem, which just gets a sword hurled her way. Thinking fast, Amethyst catches the sword with her whip and jumps down, spinning in a wide arc swinging it around to hit Yellow Diamond in the back with her own sword.

Yellow Diamond whirls around- nearly getting hit in the face with her own sword as a result, but just barely manages to catch it between her hands, yanking the whip out of Amethyst’s hands. “Not again stupid little runt.”

Amethyst shrugs. “Eh. It was worth a shot.” The purple gem pulls another whip out from her chest and flicks it forward in a rapid snap, severing the nearby lamp post adjacent to Yellow Diamond from its base, causing it to topple over and nearly land on the yellow gem, who deftly rolls out of harm’s way.

“That. Is. IT!” Yellow Diamond growls, punctuating each words by bending down and shoving each hand into the cement road below, large cracks forming along with the strange metal-ish, rock-ish sound of what must be steel rebar being severed as Yellow Diamond lifts a hunk of road the size of a motorcycle over her head and hurls it at the offending runt. Amethyst ducks out of the way just in time, with the rock actually flying over her… And promptly into an oncoming platoon of military reinforcements.

“My liege! How can we hel- GAH!” What must have been the commanding efficer is abruptly cut off as her and the rest of her force is promptly poofed upon impact with the hunk of stone.

Amethyst whistles. “Daaaaaamn Y, you have some MAJOR collateral damage issues, huh?”

Yellow Diamond gives a look of utter disgust to Amethyst. “DO NOT CALL ME BY SOME BANAL NICKNAME YOU IMPUDENT LITTLE TWERP. And I  **_OWN_ ** this city, I can break it however I please! And that same notion extends to  **_YOU_ ** .” She loudly declares, as Yellow Diamond once again summons her sword at menaces Amethyst with it.

“Oh bring. It. ON, cheesecake! I can do this  _ all day _ !” Amethyst summons a second whip as she does a running spin at Yellow Diamond, both weapons aiming to strike her in her big, dumb face, only for Yellow to grab them both and, in one smooth motion, yanking them out of AMethyst’s hands with enough force to bring her close to the royal gem, who levels her sword straight at the crude pebbles face.

“ _ So can I _ you little ru-” Yellow Diamond winces at something Amethyst can’t hear, and scowls. “UGH! OKAY WHITE!  _ GEEZE! _ ” She taps angrily at something on the wrist of the hand wielding her sword. “I’M COMING.” She storms off, just cutting Amethyst’s whip when she attempts to pull Yellow back again. 

Amethyst scowls, about to give chase, when a hand on her shoulder stops her. “Aaaa!” Amethyst whirls around summoning a new whip, when she sees it’s just Garnet. “Oh. Hey. Did you save Steven and Connie? Yellow Diamond got away from me.”

Garnet is silent for a moment. “I kept her off them long enough that they did what they needed to do.”

“Is that really the best we can hope for?” 

“Right this second, yes.” 

Yellow Diamond begrudgingly makes her way across the 7th level, reaching the location White Diamond’s distress ping placed her, and Yellow does find her fellow ruler there. Completely and utterly alone in the deserted street, standing in tattered clothing with her back to Yellow, breathing heavily and seemingly utterly winded. 

Yellow Diamond sighs and loops around in front of White Diamond. “Honestly, what kind of emergency distress is th-” She freezes, utterly taken aback by the look on White Diamond’s face. Her eyes are wide, her eyebrows are drawn down, her nostrils flared, and her lips twisted into a snarl.  “Okay. What  _ happened _ ?”

“You. Are.  _ Late _ , and  _ I _ got made a fool of because of that!” She snaps, and Yellow flinches back, even the hardened military gem taken aback at her fellow royal’s utter rage. “What took you so long to get here!?”

“I- I got stopped by the stupid Crystal Runt. But, seriously, what happened?”

White Diamond sighs, her thumb and forefinger pressed firmly into her gem nose “I guess I’m not the only one who had an annoying run in with a Crystal Gem.” A monotone voice says from behind Yellow. She glances over her shoulder at Blue Diamond, who’s walked up with crossed arms. “Both the permafusion and Steven were at my lab. Steven also had a human with him, and he…” She blinks, looking simultaneously horrorstruck and confused. “He could  _ fuse _ with the human.” She shudders. “What exactly happened here?”

White Diamond lets out a slow breath, her clenched fists tightening. “Pink Diamond trained her pearl  _ very _ well.” She gently puts a hand to her shoulder. “We fought for nearly half an hour and I never even got a single hit in on her.”

Yellow scoffs. “Trained or not, she’s still just a pearl. Are you telling me you couldn’t handle a  _ pearl _ ? She wouldn’t even be able to scratch you, she’s hardly a threat.”

“Maybe not, but not being able to take out something as lowly as a pearl made me look  _ pathetic _ in front of the soldiers that were here!” White Diamond screeches, and Yellow shares an incredulous look with Blue. 

“So, she can dodge? What’s the big deal? You were never in any  _ real _ danger. The emergency distress call was  _ not _ necessary.”

“In the end she turned my own weapon against me.” White hisses, earning a flinch from Yellow.

“Okay, I’ll admit to knowing  _ that _ pain. That runt Amethyst hit me with my own sword several times. I  _ still _ think my nose is slightly misaligned.”  Yellow scoffs. “I could have crushed her, but  _ someone _ was needlessly barraging me with distress pings.”

“She was barraging me with requests to drain the fountain- which I assume was because of Lapis Lazuli? Well, it was certainly difficult to do with the Warmachine bearing down on me.” 

White Diamond lets out a slow breath, and looks towards Blue Diamond. “You said Pink was at your lab with a human?”

“Yes. I threw the human off the edge of the level, then I left because you wanted to be the one to take out Steven.” She uncrosses her arms. “I then came here because I was curious as to what caused you to send a distress signal, even though Yellow marked as responding to it.”

White takes a slow deep breath, finally composing herself “… so we all had a run in with Crystal Gems, and none of us could crush them…” 

“I suppose that’s an accurate assessment of the events that transpired.” Blue Diamond mutters, crossing her arms, and Yellow scoffs once more, suddenly enamoured with the pattern of clouds in the sky, as what is most definitely not a blush begins to form around the edges of her face. 

White looks seriously at both of them. “We  _ cannot _ let that happen again.”

The two other Diamond’s glance at each other and nod. “Agreed.” Yellow Diamond states, before glancing around with a curious look. “By the way… What exactly happened to all the soldiers that were here? You mentioned a gathering that watched the battle?” She looks at White Diamond with a cocked eyebrow.

“Oh, them.” The white gem chuckles slightly to herself, as her foot casually shifts over a few inches, onto what appears to be a broken piece of green crystal. “They were a…  _ Necessary stress reliever. _ ” White Diamond grins as her foot comes down on the gem shard, crushing it into dust. “But believe me, it was  _ paltry _ to what I plan to do to that WRETCH Pink Diamond.”

Elsewhere on level Seven, Steven runs around frantically looking for Connie. If… If she only fell the one level, she might be okay. She might be okay!

A pair of arms envelop him from behind, and he screams in terror for a moment, before realizing that it’s just Pearl. He squirms, and she sits him down. “Pearl! Don’t scare me like that!”

“I’m sorry Steven! Just… Thank Heavens you’re alright! White Diamond wants to fight you personally and I was SO worried that she would find you before I did!” Pearl gently strokes his hair, her eyes shining. 

“I’m… I’m okay Pearl, but I lost Connie.” He wipes at his eyes. “Blue Diamond threw her over the edge of level 8. I… I was hoping she just landed on 7, but I can’t find her…” 

Pearl lets out a slow breath. “We’ll find her Steven.” Just then a blue-green blur crashes into the ground next to the pair. The two gems that crashed from the sky begin to detangle themselves, Lapis’ wings dissipating. 

It takes Steven a second to realize the small green gem that crashed in with Lapis is Peridot. She… She looks so tiny and cute! Her legs are significantly shorter and less bulky. They also seem to just be covered by socks. And one of her arms is shorter too and she has such tiny little hands! Steven squeals excitedly, pulling on Peridot’s uncovered arm. “Oh my gosh! Peridot! You’re SO cute!”

Peridot scowls and yanks her arm back. “I am not cute!”

“You’re totally cute Peri.” Lapis rubs the back of her head, chuckling. “I mean, it wasn’t so cute when we crashed into each other in midair, but trust me, you totally look adorable.” 

“Nobody asked you Lapis…” Peridot awkwardly crossing her mismatched arms, glaring at the ground. “You’re just lucky I saved you from Jasper…”

“Good to see you on our side then, Peridot…” Pearl mutters, getting to her feet. “I knew you had it in you.”

“Shut up. Not everyone can be was wonderfully defective as you! Dueling  _ White Diamond _ for goodness sakes… Defying orders like that was extremely difficult for me.”

“I know it was. It’s not easy at first. I’m glad you could though.” Pearl smiles at the small green gem, who blushes, lacing her floating fingers with her normal hand.

“Just… Shut up.” Peridot crosses her arms.

“Heh, heh, heh.” Gruff cold laughter sends a chill down Steven’s spine, and he turns to see the ever intimidating Jasper standing before them. “Well isn’t this just  _ cute _ . A little gathering of traitors practically gift wrapped for me to crush.”

Pearl stands up and summons her weapon, hurling it at Jasper, who simply grabs it out of the air and snaps it in one of her hands. “Is that really the best you can do?” The orange gem grins more teeth than smile as a large, angular helmet forms around her forehead and she collides it with Pearl’s, sending her reeling backwards into the rest of the group. Jasper laughs maniacally as the pearl’s little cabal attempt to help her up. “Look at you,  _ all _ of you. You’re all so pathetic! A little technician who thinks she can fight an army, a rebellious little makeup accessory, a pathetic little defective pearl, and  _ YOU _ .” She points at Steven, a look of disgust on her face. “You are both a disgrace to your mother and the mere CONCEPT of a Diamond. Did you know I fought in the war on earth? I  _ respected _ your mother. Respected her tactics, her resolve. YOU engender no such respect. Do you honestly think this will  _ work _ ? Do you think a bunch of dissidents and household appliances are going to be able to defeat an ARMY? We are  _ LEGION _ . We are the grand army of her highness Yellow Diamond, the vanguard of the Diamond Council! We are a separate order of MAGNITUDE from you sad wastes of minerals. Consider this the end of the line Steven Universe.” Jasper grins as she menaces towards the group, who have found themselves trapped against a wall. “I ASSURE you. It will  _ NOT _ be quick.”


	23. Chapter 22: We'll always find a way!

### Chapter 22

#### We'll always find a way!

“Any last words?” Jasper smirks grinning madly at the group, and Steven, looking past her, cheerfully returns Jasper’s smile. 

“Just one, really. Duck.” He grins at her befuddled expression.

“Duck? What are you even talking about you li- ARRRAGH!” She’s knocked off her feet as a massive gauntlet slams into the back of her head. 

“I tried to warn you.” Steven chuckles. “Hi Garnet.”

“Hello Steven.” Garnet flashes a smile at Steven. “Good to see you.”

Jasper struggles back to her feet, only to be knocked down again by a whip wrapping around each of her ankles and sending her crashing back down. “Heyo Steven.”

“Hey Amethyst! It’s good to see both of you!” Jasper lurches to standing and charges at Steven- who quickly summons his shield and turns to throw the barreling enemy right off the edge of the level. In that one swift motion, Jasper is spun outwards, into the depths below. “Have a nice fall!” He waves after the falling gem, with Amethyst snickering behind him.

“We could have handled it.” Pearl mutters to Garnet, who just smiles slightly.

Amethyst claps Steven on the back. “Maaaan. Steven, you learned to fight, didn’t you?”

“Yellow Diamond spent an entire day rambling about how I could use an enemy's large size against them.” Steven shrugs. “I mean, she’s totally evil, but it comes in handy… I guess.”

Amethyst snickers. “Well, I bet she feels really dumb for that now.” She grins. “So I know who Ms. Blue Steven Stealer is, but who’s the tiny green dork?” Amethyst points her thumb at Peridot. 

“Oh this is Peridot… She was my escort that Homeworld assigned me… But I think she’s on our side now?” Steven shrugs, and smiles at Peridot, who awkwardly smiles back. 

“Uh. Yes. I, uh, defied an order from Jasper and attacked her rather than Lapis.” She clears her throat, and turns a nervous smile towards Pearl. “I can’t believe you dueled  _ White Diamond _ .” She wrings her hand with the fingers from her limb enhancer, staring at the ground. “Did she really never land a hit on you?”

Pearl chuckles nervously, and Amethyst gasps. “Woah. P! You dueled White Diamond, and she  _ never even hit you?! _ ”

Pearl smiles awkwardly. “Uh, yes. For a good while at least, but, strangely enough, she actually became a  _ better _ combatant as she lost her composure, so I fled.”

“That’s awesome, P.” Amethyst punches her arm, and Pearl flinches away. 

“T- thank you. Are… Are we “cool” now, Amethyst?” Pearl puts on a forced smile towards Amethyst.

“Pfft. I am, but you’re a nerd.” Amethyst laughs, and Pearl scoffs rolling her eyes. 

“ _ Honestly _ .” Pearl smiles down at Amethyst, who returns one in full. “So what happened with you two?”

“Nuh uh. No way are you changing the subject, P!” Amethyst smirks at Pearl. “I want to hear  _ all _ about your fight with White Diamond first!” 

“If I must.” Pearl sighs. “She actually challenged me…”  

Elsewhere on the 7th level, White Diamond stares hard at her fellow rulers, watching them both process her idea. 

“ _ Brown Diamond _ ? You… You can’t be serious?” Blue Diamond says finally, her voice actually leaving it’s monotone, showing how incredulous she is.

“I’m with Blue. Sure, she’s powerful, but the three of us together… not really the best idea.” Yellow shrugs, infuriating White. “The fact of the matter is that without Pink Diamond as our mediator we just don’t work all fused together. Our personalities don’t work, they clash too heavily. Much as I hate to admit it, she was sort of the glue that held us together.”

White Diamond scowls at the other two Diamonds. “You two don’t seem to understand.  _ That wasn’t a request. _ ”

“Are… are you trying to order us around now, White? Because you have no right to d-”

White Diamond cuts across Blue, with a spear pointed at her neck. “We are on Homeworld. **I** run the show on Homeworld. It is **MY** turf. _Understood_?”

Blue takes a half step back, her eyes narrowed. “Yes. I think you made your  _ point _ very clear. We’ll form Brown Diamond, but after we crush this rebellion, I think we’ll  _ seriously _ have to… rework our government.”

“Yes Blue, I believe we will.” White Diamond’s eyes narrow as the two gems share an equal look of scarcely concealed loathing.

Yellow looks between the two. “Geeze. Can we just get this over with then?”

“Let’s…” Blue Diamond holds a hand out to Yellow, who hesitantly takes the offered hand. 

In an alley on level one, Steven and the group talk to Indicolite. “You… You all seriously fought one of the Diamonds, and  _ survived? _ ” Indicolite whistles slowly, leaning back against a wall. “I had heard about Pearl, no one will shut up about it- but you two as well? Steven isn’t really a surprise, but… Wow, that’s just… Wow.” She throws back her head and laughs. “Well, if I wasn’t sure we would win before, I am now!”

“I hit Yellow Diamond in the face with her own sword.” Amethyst chirps.

Indicolite chuckles. “That sounds hilarious.” A large crashing noise from above and the screams of many gems however, quickly grabs the group’s attention.  “What… What was that!?” Indicolite tears out of the alley ahead of Steven, looking skyward. 

Up above the assembly’s head, one would be forgiven for thinking the sky was falling. However, knowing of the nature of the world, Steven and his friends know that what they are seeing is  _ merely _ a large section of level 2 crashing out of its levitation field, and into the streets below.

Amidst the carnage of steel, sparks, and falling stones, living or otherwise, Steven can faintly make out a strange shape amidst the hail of debris, he then quickly notices that it seems to be headed  _ right for them _ . The group suddenly finds themselves encased in a translucent pink sphere as Steven barely manages to summon his bubble in time to protect everyone from the wave of dust and stone that hits them after the strange brownish object impacts furiously with the street just in front of them. As the bubble dissipates and the dust clears, the group is utterly shocked at what they see before them.

“What in the world…?” Indicolite narrows her eyes to slits, attempting to get a read on the brutish, brown, and utterly  _ massive _ form in front of them. Pearl, however, instantly recognizes the creature before them, and stands stock still, eyes as wide as dinner plates as she is locked in place in abject fear.

“No… It- It can’t be. They  _ wouldn’t _ . Not this close to their palace. Not this close to their  _ planet _ !” She squeaks in fear. The only person sharing her sentiments appears to be Garnet, who, whilst taking it better than Pearl, is clearly distressed.

“This… This was always a possibility. But I  _ never _ thought they’d actually go through with it.”

“Uhhh.... Guys? Could someone  _ please _ tell me what’s going on?” Steven slowly backs further into the group, a worried expression clear on his face. His question is answered from the last place he’d expect, and the last place he’d hoped, as six mismatched, alien eyes appear from the head of the titanic figure, and stare directly at him.

**“Isn’t it obvious, Pink Diamond?”** The voice that speaks is, unlike most fusions, very clearly the overlaying of three voices, the resonation clear as it speaks. The dominant voice of the fusion, however, is clear, and the recognition sends Steven’s blood running cold.

“White Diamond…” Steven looks up in terror at the menace before him, as the dust clears to show the creature’s true form, humanoid in the basest of senses only, it’s shoulders were so broad they were almost double its waist, evidently to allow the six arms all sprouting from the same joint socket enough room to move. It stood on legs that Steven was almost certain were bending the wrong way at the knee, and he was fairly sure there was one more leg joint than was normal for a person somewhere between its knee and its ankle.

**“Not quite, Pink. Though, I am** ** _very much_** **in control at the moment, you can call me Brown Diamond for the very short remainder of your utterly PITIFUL existence.”** Brown Diamond grins a set of jagged teeth, all of them long, narrow, and pointed, intersecting perfectly to form an enamel cage of fangs. Between the first few incisors, a long, forked tongue flits out, producing a loud hissing noise that was evidently meant to intimidate the gems before her, and evidently succeeding. **“Any last words,** ** _old_** **_friend_** **?”** The monster cackles to itself, slowly taking one massive step forward, its 60-something foot frame lurching ahead, its forward foot crashing down and cracking the pavement below.

Steven looks up, his terror quickly morphing into elation at what he sees. “Yeah! I’ve got a few! Heads up, jerk!” Brown Diamond looks up, just in time to come face to jagged rock face with a large piece of pavement that comes crashing down straight on her head. As she reels back in surprise, jumping off the now-crumbling mass of stone, and backflipping on to the street in front of Steven and the gang, is Connie, battered, bruised, but with a grin as wide as her face. She turns to Steven.

“How’s  _ that _ for an entrance?” Rather than answer with words, Steven instead just grapples Connie in a bear hug of epic proportions, actually lifting the taller girl off the ground.

“CONNIE! YOU’RE ALIVE! You don’t know how much I worried about you! What happened!?” Steven finally lets go when he realizes he was cutting off Connie’s air supply, evidently hampering her capacity for exposition.

“Gah! Thanks, Steven. And yeah, I thought I was a goner too, luckily, I had someone to catch me.” She points up to a nearby rooftop, where Morganite is standing, smiling and waving at her companions.

“HI GUUUUUYS!” She jumps down to join everyone. “Did I do good?”

Indicolite puts a single hand on her comrade’s shoulder. “You did  _ great _ , Morgan.” Morganite beams at her superior officer, before her expression suddenly turns to that of fear, her eyes widening, and a small squeak escaping her. She turns towards the slowly rising mass of gem in front of everyone.

“That… That’s a LOT of hate…” She stares wide-eyed as Brown Diamond rises up once more. She looks flabbergasted at everyone. “OhmystarsOhmystarsOhmystars! What are we gonna  _ do _ !?” She rapidly turns to look at everyone in sequence, begging for an answer.

Steven and Connie look at each other, sharing a smile which grows between them. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Steven?”

“Wanna give the Blue Diamond part of that monster another headache?”

The two take each other’s hands and begin rapidly spinning, laughing as they slowly spin faster and faster until, in a bright flash of light, they both merge into the tall, older-looking form they had only recently achieved. The Crystal Gems, and assorted others, are understandably surprised. 

“D-did Steven and Connie just… fuse?” Pearl stutters, staring incredulously at the fusion. “I mean… That… shouldn't be possible!”

“Worry about the science later, P! Steven- Uh- Connie- Uh… Stevonnie! Stevonnie is gonna kick BUTT!” Amethyst throws her fists into the air. “WOOO! GO STEVONNIE!”

To everyone’s surprise, a widely grinning Garnet echos Amethyst. “GO STEVONNIE!”

**“Not this again!”** The monstrous fusion rumbles, Blue Diamond’s voice taking point.

**“Stay focused! Fused with a human or not, we WILL crush them.”** White Diamonds voice comes to the forefront again, though Blue quickly comes to bare once more.

**“This fusion is fairly strong, I fought it be-”** Brown Diamond stops talking abruptly, and after a moment Yellow Diamond’s voice is the most prominent. 

**“BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!”** The massive fusion screams into the sky.  **“WE HAVE A JOB TO DO AND YOU ARE** **_BOTH_ ** **GETTING DISTRACTED!”** The figure visibly distorts as its face rapidly shifts between that of each Diamond.

“They… They’re infighting. This is good for us. It will diminish Brown Diamond’s capabilities.” Pearl murmurs. “But even still… Steven- uhm, Stevonnie is the only one with a weapon that can hurt her, and that weapon is a  _ shield _ . Rose’s sword can, but I don’t see Lion anyw-” Lion appears through a portal directly in front of Pearl, and she stumbles a few steps back. “N-Nevermind. He’s right there.”

“Aww Yeah!” Stevonnie cheers as they reaches into Lion’s mane, before triumphantly pulling out the sword and raising it over their head. They turn to the assembled crowd before them. “Well guys, whattya say? You wanna be a great distraction?” Rather than answer with words, the assembly of gems instead responds by unveiling their myriad weapons, Peridot turning her remaining arm enhancer into its blaster form. “Well then. Charge!” Stevonnie shouts, before turning to run at Brown Diamond, the Crystal Gems following in tow.

Brown Diamond, for all her infighting, was decidedly unprepared when the crowd of gems descend upon her shins, stabbing with impotent fury, but nonetheless with enough force to distract the monstrous fusion.  **“What do you think you’re doing, you bunch of clumps of dirt? There isn’t a fool among you who can harm me- GAH!”** She shouts, what was evidently White Diamond’s monologue cut off as Stevonnie lands a stab on her ankle, sending her reeling backwards a bit more.

Garnet, seeing an opportunity, runs back towards the line of buildings, before leaping forward, bouncing off the face of a nearby building, and punching straight into Brown Diamond’s face, sending her falling to the ground once more, coming ever closer to the edge of the level. “Stevonnie! Now!” Garnet shouts, punching at a couple of the monstrous Diamond’s eyes whilst the rest of the gems attack various points on her prone form, a burning stab from Indicolite causing particular annoyance to the horrid fusion.

Stevonnie, heeding Garnet’s words, climbs onto Brown Diamond, and begins stabbing downwards into her torso. “Take this! And this! And thi-Whoah!” Stevonnie’s last stab is cut off as Brown Diamond begins to rise once more, just barely managing to hold on to the fusion’s side as it rises to her feet.

**“Impudent little wretch!”** The exact speaker seemed equal in that statement, as Brown Diamond begins blindly striking herself in an attempt to strike Stevonnie, who, through the combined training of Connie, and innate strength of Steven, manages to dodge every strike, slowly jumping higher and higher up the fusion’s body, before stopping at the gem on its chest belonging to Yellow Diamond, and stabbing at the edge of it.  **“GYAH!!!”** The composite gem screeches as pain literally ripples throughout its body, its form becoming almost fluid as the Diamonds struggle to remain whole.

The monster finally manages a solid clamp down on Stevonnie, who finds themself firmly gripped in one of the many hands of the carbon beast that is their adversary.  **“This is** **_it_ ** **Pink! The end of the line! You WILL be exterminated! I have waited MILLENNIA to put an end to you, and trust me, I shall savour** **_every moment_ ** **.”** White Diamond’s voice decrees, as the creature’s grip slowly increases on Stevonnie, who cries out in pain. The other gems attempt to attack through various means, Pearl by far the most annoying, with her energy blasts causing Brown Diamond to back away slightly, in order to put Stevonnie between the two of them.  **“And when this is over, I will make PAINFULLY sure to see to it that every. Last. ONE of your little rebel friends sees the harvester! So that an OUTRAGE such as this will NEVER happen again. For no one will doubt our power ever again! All will know to fear us! All shall kneel before the iron might of White Dia-”** The monologue is swiftly cut off, as Brown Diamond takes one final step back, into open air. In all the chaos of combat, the Diamond fusion had slowly found itself walking closer and closer towards the edge. And, it seems, that had finally come to its logical conclusion, as Brown Diamond falls backwards, into the long, painful drop to level 0.

For a moment, it seems as though Stevonnie will fall with the Diamond amalgam, its grip on them slipping, but only after they had begun to fall. This worry is quickly unwound when a purple whip encloses around the shorter fusion’s form, arresting their fall. “Nice catch Amethyst!” Garnet smiles, looking over the edge at the safely ensnared Stevonnie.

“Eh, no biggie.” Amethyst blushes, as she and the rest of the gems begin to pull the fusion up.

Brown Diamond, however, was not so lucky. The impact of the gigantic fusion causing a visible updraft of dust and debris as it lands, back-first, on several buildings.  **“Aaaagh! Man, that smarts!”** Yellow Diamond’s voice exclaims, as the creature once again rises, only slightly worse for wear.  **“That doesn’t matter! We have to get back up there! We have to** **_kill_ ** **Pink Diamo- OH FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE WHITE. Will you drop it already!?”** _ Blue Diamond _ of all people interjects, her voice decidedly non-monotone, and actually bearing some genuine fury behind it.  **“I have had ENOUGH of your revenge plot! Can we** **_please_ ** **focus on crushing the rebellion, and not on taking out a single impudent half-breed nuisance!?” “How DARE you deny me! This is MY city, and I shall deal with incursions upon it as I see fit!” “Oh** **_enough_ ** **of the whole “your city” crap! I’ve run the military for just as long as you’ve run this city and, whilst** **_I_ ** **was out conquering the** **Galaxy** **, YOU were staying home, making appearances and planning your** **_TACKY_ ** **parties! Yes, I said it, TACKY!”** The argument between all three Diamonds erupts into full force, Brown Diamond’s face shifting rapidly between each of them, and struggling to find its own vocal chords as they begin  _ talking over one another _ . As the argument rages within a single form, the fusion evidently not breaking because those involved were too  _ cross with each other to bother defusing _ , a shout from up overhead grabs all three of their divided attentions.

“Hey! Diamonds!”

**“WHAT!!!”** All three of them shout in perfect unison.

“ _ CATCH!!! _ ” Out from a portal high above Brown Diamond’s head flies Lion, with Stevonnie riding on top of it. They then jumps off the leaping feline, soaring across the sky until their arc points them directly over Brown Diamond, and then assumes a downward striking pose, as they careen downwards, straight towards Brown Diamond’s big, dumb face. The monstrous fusion can only shout in frustration and utter  _ lividity _ as Stevonnie’s strike rings true, Rose’s sword embedding itself straight to the hilt in the flesh directly above Blue Diamond’s gem. Said flesh, rather than simply cut,  _ fractures _ , with small cracks emanating from it, as though the whole of Brown Diamond were one giant stone. These small cracks then give way to one, MASSIVE fissure, which quickly weaves its way vertically down the length of Brown Diamond’s inhuman form, catching every diamond along the way down.

There is a moment of pause, the entirety of the fight, the surrounding area, even the entire  _ city _ seemingly growing silent, as Brown Diamond’s many eyes can only cross themselves to stare at Stevonnie in a cruel mix of horror and bemusement, the scantest squeaks escaping its mouth, before the whole of that which is Brown Diamond SPLITS down the middle and, in a flash of light, ceases to be, the three component Diamonds reforming and crashing down equidistant to one another in the rubble below, unconscious.

Stevonnie lands almost silently at the center of the battlefield, smiling proudly at their work.

The three diamond all dig themselves out, looking exhausted and battered. They look around, orienting themselves after that- Blue and White spotting each other immediately.

“This is all your fault!” The two shout simultaneously, glaring at each other- weapons in hand. 

“ _ My  _ fault!?” Blue screeches. “My fault?  _ You  _ were the one who was  _ obsessively _ forcing us to target Steven, when killing him would have just made a martyr, as both Yellow and I  _ tried _ to tell you! It’s why we never took out Pink in the first war!”

“WHO CARES IF HE WOULD HAVE BEEN A MARTYR!? WE COULD HAVE CRUSHED ALL OF THEM  _ EASILY _ IF YOU WEREN’T HOLDING ME BACK!” White Diamond shouts, both her and Blue slowly trudging towards one another, glaring all the way.

“YOU COULDN’T EVEN TAKE OUT A PEARL, DON’T PIN THIS ON-”

“WOULD BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!” Yellow screams, storming over and knocking them both over with the flat of her blade. “This is  _ pathetic! _ You’re  _ both _ pathetic. WE LOST. You could,  _ at the very least _ , save your dignity and NOT ARGUE ABOUT WHO’S FAULT IT WAS! We were  _ all _ at fault. We  _ never _ could make it with just the three of us. Our death sentence was written the  _ moment _ Pink left us. And with you two acting like a pair of CHILDREN, I think maybe we deserved it!” She takes a deep breath. “Suck it up.  _ We lost _ . Accept the freaking consequences and don’t bicker like human children.”

Yellow desummons her weapon and looks over to where Stevonnie stands, watching the Diamonds with wide eyes. Letting out a slow breath she sinks to her knees, and Stevonnie walks over, sword held ready to defend herself should any of them attack, but White and Blue don’t even seem to notice her approach, staring flabbergasted at Yellow Diamond. “Do you surrender?”

Yellow Diamond nods slowly. “I… I always respected Pink Diamond. Always. Even when she rebelled against us. I… I admired how brave she would have to be to do that, and I was impressed by her armies. I  _ enjoyed _ fighting her. A small part of me always knew I would lose to her. Never thought I’d lose to her… child, though.” She laughs humorlessly. “I can only assume you’re going to shatter us now?”

Stevonnie shakes their head. “No. That’s not really my style. Though, you guys are going to prison for a veeeery long time. I’m sure you’ve done countless horrible things I don’t know about.”

“How… merciful.” She sighs. “Thank you. You are extraordinarily like your mother, Steven, and we should count ourselves lucky.”

“Yellow! How can you just give up like this!?” White lurches to her feet, glaring hard at the military leader. “You’re just as much of a traitor as Pink!”

“Calling me a traitor would imply I ever had any sort of fealty towards you, White. My devotion was towards the great and glorious gem empire, and its expansion throughout infinity. Evidently, said empire no longer wants me, and who am I to cling desperately to the past?” She taps something on the device on her wrist. “Calling off all troops at once. We have surrendered.” A split second after Yellow Diamond speaks into the device, the message plays all over the city. “You’ve won, Steven.” She sighs. “You’ve won.”


	24. Chapter 23: No Authority

### Chapter 23

#### No Authority 

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO US! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO  **_ME_ ** ! I AM THE GREAT WHITE DIAMOND! THIS IS MY CITY! MY  _ PLANET!” _ White Diamond struggles to break free of her bonds.  _ What kind of binding is so strong a Diamond can’t break through it!? _

“Oh, hush up.” She’s shoved roughly forward by Pink’s pearl, her despicable, upstart little pearl. “It  _ was _ your city, but it hardly is anymore. You surrendered.”

“I DID **NOT.** _YELLOW_ SURRENDERED. YELLOW **BETRAYED** US!” The once royal gem’s eyes burned with hatred and malice towards her captor and her comrade, barely a glimpse into the seething madness beneath.

“Have some  _ dignity _ , would you.” Yellow Diamond mutters, looking far too  _ proud _ with the treason she just committed, walking upright with her head held high, with the Crystal runt walking behind her, glaring at her back as the three Diamonds are ordered in a single file. “You are an  _ embarrassment _ to all that is being a Diamond. You  _ both _ are.” Yellow Diamond glares past White at the utterly despondent Blue, who’s being pushed forward by the Permafusion, her shoulders hunched and her eyes glazed over. 

“WE STILL COULD HAVE WON!” White roars lurching towards Yellow, only to be yanked back by the pearl. “WE COULD HAVE  **CRUSHED THEM** HAD YOU NOT BETRAYED US!”

Yellow takes a deep breath, her hands- likewise bound behind her back with shackles around her wrists, which around bound together by a Yellow magic energy- clench tightly into fists. She exhales slowly. “No. We couldn’t have. Not only were you and Blue at each other's throats, but I was getting  _ countless _ reports of our gems defecting, and from what I could gather,  _ many _ defected after seeing you so spectacularly fail against the pearl. Our citizens were realizing that the ‘Great Diamond Council’ isn’t actually so  _ great _ after all.” She sighs. 

“WE ARE GREAT!” White roars, tears streaming down her face. “WE ARE GREAT! WE ARE! WE ARE THE GREAT DIAMOND AUTHORITY! AND ALL OF THEM ARE BUT INSECTS BENEATH OUR FEET! WE. ARE.  **GODS!** ”

“No. We were. For too long now we’ve been cooperating on nothing more than the  _ memory _ of when we all actually got along. The Diamond Council was not even close to great near its end, and now it has fallen.”

The runt behind Yellow chuckles. “I’m enjoying this. I’m  _ really _ enjoying this. Seeing the ‘great’ Yellow Diamond act so… Hmm, what was it that she said- oh, yeah  _ spineless _ . White is right, you’re a  _ quitter _ .”

White Diamond chuckles, smirking slightly at the barely concealed fury on Yellow Diamond’s face. 

Yellow takes a deep breath, her fists shaking slightly. “I was making the only reasonable decision at that point. That’s not  _ spineless _ , that’s  _ honourable _ . Admitting you’ve lost is incredibly difficult, and I was strong enough to acknowledge our defeat, unlike my former frie-” She pauses and shakes her head. “… fellow rulers. Nothing you say will take that away from me runt.”

“Amethyst! Yellow!  _ Be nice _ .” Pink’s voice cuts across from somewhere behind them, and Lapis Lazuli’s laugh as well just a moment after, both cutting deeply into White Diamond’s ears.

“Wow, Steven. Maybe you should just get that printed on your shirt.”

“Oh, come on Steven, she’s the  _ bad guy. _ Why do I have to be nice to the bad guy who was definitely  _ not _ nice to me!?” The runt complains.

“Because she surrendered! There’s no reason to be mean, and besides, being nice can turn someone around.” White Diamond glances over her shoulder and sees Steven grinning widely at Peridot, who weakly smiles back. 

She scoffs, looking away, as the Pearl pushes her again. “Where are you even taking us? There’s no prison cell that could hold us for long.” She sneers, and the pearl… laughs. She  _ LAUGHS _ . “WHAT IS SO FUNNY YOU INSOLENT LITTLE WHELP!?”

“You say there’s no prison cell that can hold you, but Blue Diamond specifically designed one that was capable of holding a Diamond-  _ specially reserved for Pink _ , in fact- and  _ you _ had two more made in secret  _ just in case _ the other Diamonds turned on you as well. Did you forget about that? Indicolite hadn’t. Several of her closest friends were shattered after the construction was complete because you were  _ so _ paranoid that the other diamonds would find out.”

She feels Yellow’s gaze sharply focused on her. “And you call  _ me _ the traitor…”

“Y-you… even back then were plotting against us…” Blue murmurs, scarcely above a whisper. “Way back then… Right after the war… you…” She falls silent again, staring blankly at the ground.

White Diamond snarls and spins around attempting to kick the pearl pushing her, though the pearl just dodges back.  _ Again _ . HOW MUCH CAN THIS  _ STUPID SERVANT DODGE!? _ “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME! NEVER! I AM THE GREAT AND HONORABLE WHITE DIAMOND! AND I WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED! YOU ARE ALL MY SERVANTS! OBEY ME!”

The pearl sighs. “I never thought I’d see the day when White Diamond has more  _ fury _ than Yellow, or less of a grip on reality than Blue. I thought you were supposed to be  _ the calm one _ . The  _ level headed _ ruler.” She pulls her spiraled spear, and in one swift movement knocks White Diamond to the ground with it. “We are  _ not _ your servants. You will  _ never _ have another  _ servant _ as long as you exist White Diamond. Understand this, for I will say it only once: You  _ lost. _ You could at the very least try to go down with the  _ grace _ you were so obsessed with at your peak.”

“NO! NO! YOU ARE ALL MY SERVANTS! YOU ESPECIALLY YOU  _ DEFECT!  _ I WILL NOT TAKE THIS! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! I WON’T I WON’T I  **WON’T** !!!” She springs back to her feet and lunges at Pearl, only to slam into a pink shield and fall to the ground again.

The shield vanishes, and Pink Diamond is standing in front of her pearl. “Stop it White Diamond. You don’t have any authority anymore. None. NOTHING. You will  _ never  _ hurt another gem. EVER. You have to learn that what you did is  _ bad.  _ And for now, you have to sit in a jail cell and think about it. And you have to understand that you’re not in charge of  _ anything _ anymore.” 

Pink pulls White to her feet. “I am, Pink. I am in charge. This is my city. They love me! THEY RESPECT ME!”

Pink shakes her head. “No, no they don’t. They  _ feared _ you. They  _ never _ loved you. Never.”

“SHUT UP PINK DIAMOND! SHUT UP! JUST BECAUSE THEY LOVED YOU DOESN’T MEAN THEY DIDN’T LOVE ME! THEY LOVED ME  _ TWICE AS MUCH _ AS THEY LOVED YOU!”

Pink lets out a very slow breath. “Oh, White. I’m not Pink Diamond, you know that.” She shakes her head. “It’s Steven, remember? Pink Diamond- No, no.” She shakes her head. “ _ Rose Quartz _ is my mother. She gave up her physical form to have me.”

“NO! YOU HAVE THAT GEM! YOU ARE PINK DIAMOND! I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR EYES! SHE’S IN THERE, AND SHE IS  _ MOCKING ME _ !” She shrieks, falling to her knees. “YOU ARE PINK DIAMOND! AND YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DIE BY MY HAND!” She breaks down, her shoulders shaking with sobs and her knees failing from beneath her as she stares down  _ Pink Diamond _ with tears in her eyes. “You… You were supposed to be ground into diamond dust.” She curls in on herself, shaking like a leaf. “I was supposed to win. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…”

“No. But it’s how it should be.”


	25. Chapter 24: The Aftermath

### Chapter 24

#### The Aftermath

“No! No! To the left! YOUR OTHER LEFT!” Pearl scowls and glances at Peridot, who was happily reunited with all of her limb enhancers after the battle ended. “How do they  _ not _ know the difference between right and left.”

“As if I know. I’ve never worked with building crews before.” She pauses, narrowing her eyes at the gems moving the large chunk of land with several simultaneous tractor beams. “No! No! Just wrong! You have to turn it…” She pauses, quickly scanning it with something from her arm enhancer. “Precisely 22 degrees to the left or the electrical panels won't align correctly!” She smiles awkwardly at Pearl. “Just one moment.” She marches over, chewing the working gems out, and after a moment, they sheepishly apologize and do as she says, the land settling into the massive gap in the street and melding into it with a bright flash of light. She nods, and goes back to Pearl. “You know, it was genius to suggest using solar energy as a replacement for powering everything with gems. It’ll take a while to get the frame work in all over the empire, but by the time we’ve finished repairing the damage caused to the city by the battle, the whole capital- even the underslums- will be powered by our sun. Where did you even get an idea like that?”

Pearl chuckles. “Ah, well, it’s something humans do actually. Predominately they burn fossilized plants for power-”

Peridot cuts across Pearl. “Would that not send excess amounts of CO 2 into the air?”

“It does. Which is why many humans are pressing for usage of ‘clean’ energy such as solar, and wind, and such energy sources are used, just not as much as they could be. But, progress is progress, and we’ll need a  _ lot _ of it by the time we’re done with our world. So, we might as well lead by their example.”

“Humans also use the  _ wind _ as a source of energy? But they don’t even have control of the weather on their planet.” She pauses. “Wait, or do they? I’ll admit that my sources of information on Earth are rather outdated.”

“No. No they don’t. They just put turbines in areas that usually get a lot of wind. They also have hydroelectric energy, which they take in either by tapping into natural waterflow, or by building dams and artificially inducing a current. They’re rather resourceful.”

“Hmm. I had always assumed humans were primitive and weak. They do have such fragile bodies and short life spans, after all.”

“Humans are… Interesting. They accomplish things across generations that a single gem would accomplish on her own, but they never really stop moving forward.” She smiles at Steven running towards them. “They’re still eons of development behind us, but humans have a lot of potential, and they were almost snuffed out in their infancy by our hubris…”

Steven skids to a stop next to Pearl and Peridot. “Guys! It worked! The entire level just got power! Amethyst and Garnet are working with a few technicians to install more solar panels on the higher levels- they’re even replacing windows with  _ see-through _ solar panels! How cool is that!”

Pearl nods. “Those are actually kind of different. They aren’t just a transparent photovoltaic cells, that would mean they somehow simultaneously have all of the light passing through them, yet also absorbed photons to induce an electron flow. They’re transparent luminescent solar concentrators, which absorb non-visible wavelengths of light, such as ultraviolet and infrared, which they then luminesce as another wavelength of infrared light. This emitted infrared light is guided to the edge of plastic, where thin strips of conventional photovoltaic solar cell convert it into electricity.” 

“Uh. Can you explain that again, but in  _ English _ ?” Steven laughs. “Because I have no idea what you just said.”

Pearl sighs. “… Regular solar panels absorb visible light, and so aren’t see-through. Those specifically absorb non-visible light and push it to hidden normal solar panels that make it electricity.” 

“Cool! Well it’s working!” Steven grins. “Everyone is working together to fix the city, and it’s going so fast.”

Peridot crosses her arms. “They’re on the windows already? They’ve already replaced all of the roofs? That  _ is _ quick. It’s only been three day-night cycles.”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, there’s  _ a lot  _ of damage, and we’re still getting everything spread to the colonies- though Indicolite and Morganite are mostly handling that. Oh! Oh! And Indicolite says she’s has no intention of keeping the reins. She never  _ wanted _ to be a leader.” 

Peridot’s eyes widen. “WHAT!? But… But her taking charge is the only thing that prevented us from falling into  _ absolute anarchy! _ She… She has to stay in charge!”

“No! No! We were talking about it, and she was wanting  _ me _ to take over once I’m older and I was like nononono! Then I thought, maybe gems could be all democratic like my home country on earth! And like, the colonies could be like states!”

Pearl nods. “That… That could definitely work, though it would need a better election system than the U.S., since first past the post is deeply flawed…”

“Uh, what now?” Peridot looks between Steven and Pearl. “What is this ‘U.S.’ and ‘democratic’ and ‘first past the post’.”

Pearl sighs, and begins displaying a series of holographic diagrams to the green technician gem. “The U.S., or the U.S.A. is the United States of America. It’s a country on Earth, and it consists of 50 separate governing states under one larger national government, which is a system that could work for gems and the colonies. Democracy is a form of government in which the people are directly involved in the governing of the nation. Steven is suggesting we take on the idea of the representative government in which the people vote for officials to represent them. First past the post is a type of election and the one the U.S. uses. And it is… flawed, to say the least. It’s one that is won by receiving more votes than any other candidate, which seems straightforward and simple, but it has… issues. I would recommend… Instant-runoff voting. It stops issues like improper representation of what the public wants because of a split vote.” She pauses, clearly thinking deeply. “Though first a constitution would need to be established, clearly defining the rights of the citizens and the setup and rights of the government, and then the first election would need to be held, and it would be lengthy to set up, but it definitely needs doing.” She lets out a slow breath. “The whole  _ society _ will need  _ completely _ reworked. It will be slow, and it won’t be easy.”

“So, basically, we may have won the war, but the fight is  _ far _ from over?” Peridot says slowly. “That’s just…  _ brilliant _ .” She sighs. “How would we even go about establishing a new government? We have no framework. Nothing. We’ve been an Oligarchy as far back as recorded history. And we have to make something the citizens will accept? I… don’t foresee this being an easy task.”

Pearl shakes her head. “It won’t be, but lasting change never is.”

“But we can do it.” Steven grins. “We can! There’s nothing that can stop this now. It’ll change, for the better!”

“LOOK OUT BELOW!” Someone shouts from level three above them, and the gems in the area quickly scatter as they knock off an edge section that is beyond repair, sending the crumbling debris into the streets below.  

Peridot frowns. “This is such a terrible mess.”

Pearl frowns. “Very much so. Come on, we need to go through that wreck to see if  _ anything _ is salvageable. We don’t want to be wasteful. The rest can go into making the wall around the undercity to keep out any corrupted gems.”

“Can I help? Everyone else keeps shooing me away.” Steven smiles hopefully at Pearl, and she returns the grin. 

“Of course you can Steven. We’re just sorting through that assorted rubble.”

“YEAH! HELPING!” He grins and darts to the large rubble pile in the street, and Pearl chuckles, following him. 

A few days later the door to Pearl’s small commandeered lab opens and shuts, but she ignores it, focused on the device in her hands. “Pearl.” It’s silent for a moment as she continues ignoring the intruder. “Pearl?” Another pause. “OI!”

Pearl sighs, and sets down her tools, turning a glare to the cross armed Indicolite. “What is it? Can’t you see that I’m  _ busy _ ? I’m trying to design a better miniature generator here for hand held tools.”

“Well I need you to explain this voting system you’re recommending if we’re to even so much as  _ hope _ to get started on writing a constitution, and I also want you to stand as Earth’s representative on the council writing this.”

Pearl huffs. “Ask Garnet. For both. I’m trying to get as much accomplished here as I can before we go back to Earth, which mind you we’re doing in less than a week.”

“You don’t have to go back, you know. If you’re that invested in helping rebuild the technological infrastructure, then you could just stay here.”  

Pearl shakes her head. “No. No I can’t. I’m staying with Steven. Not because he ‘owns’ me, because he  _ doesn’t _ , but because I  _ care _ about him,  _ and _ I promised Rose I would watch over him,  _ and _ the Earth. He still has a lot of growing up to do, and I have  _ no _ intention of abandoning him. Besides, I can still work from Earth once we repair the pads at the Galaxy warp, I just want to get as much done as I can before that delay.”

Indicolite sighs. “Fine. Fine. I’ll go talk to Garnet then- though I’m not so sure how comfortable some of the other representatives will be with a Permafusion representing Earth. They’d probably try and claim that Earth has two representatives, and therefore an unfair say.”

“Tell them to suck it up, and that it’s just a part of the new world order. Permafusions are their own people just as much as individual gems, and those rights need to be represented just as well in the constitution.”

“Aren’t you concerned that the former servant class might still get the short end of the stick?”

“Nah. Peridot is a homeworld representative. I know she’ll do fine.” Pearl turns her attention back to her work. “Just ask Garnet to do it, and she  _ should _ be able to explain instant runoff voting as well.”

The door clicks shut behind Indicolite a moment later. 

Two days later, Pearl’s work is met with another unwelcome guest. “P, are you  _ sure _ we can’t stick around for the war trails? I  _ really  _ want to see Jasper get what’s coming to her.”

“Does  _ nobody _ respect the “Do Not Disturb” sign? No, we can’t stay for the war trials.” She turns around to glare at Amethyst. “Steven and Connie need to go back to Earth as soon as possible, and in  _ three days _ they will have a ship ready for us at the closest colony to Earth. The trials aren’t for another  _ nine _ days. Do you see the problem?”

“Pfft, who cares about do not disturb signs. You’re just working on some nerd thing.”

“I am building -FROM SCRATCH- a device that will remove restrictions on all servant Gem’s gems and give them the free will they deserve. It’s not just some ‘nerd’ thing, Amethyst. It’s  _ VERY _ important to the new gem world order!”

“Geeze, sorry. Wow, Indicolite wasn’t kidding when she said that you got testy with anyone who wasn’t Steven or Peridot joining you in here.” Amethyst chuckles. “That’s too bad though. I  _ really _ wanted to see Jasper’s trial.”

“Then just request that you can see a recording later, and leave me alone- Oh! On your way out, could you ask Peridot to come here?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll send the other half of the nerd duo. So you can nerd it up. I’ll see you when you emerge from your nerd cave.” Amethyst snickers, opening the door. “Have fun building people's souls.”

Amethyst leaves, and Pearl continues working straight through the next two and a half days, only leaving the small lab when it’s time to set off to the colony.


	26. Chapter 25: The End

### Chapter 25

#### The End

“So… You’re going back to Earth tomorrow?” Lapis leans back in her chair. “It’s kind of hard to believe.”

“Yeah! I’m so excited! I miss Earth so much!” Steven grins. “I mean, I’m missing things I never thought I  _ would _ miss! I mean, missing my dad and my friends- duh. But like, I miss  _ real _ grass, and I miss rain, and I miss the ocean-”

“Yeah, I’ll give you that. Earth has a  _ very _ nice ocean.”

“… It was kind of hard to sleep the first night here because I couldn’t hear the ocean. I… It never bugged me when we were in space, but I guess I had Lion’s purring and stuff, but… It seemed so  _ quiet _ the first night here. Back on Earth I live on the beach, so the ocean is… a constant sound. I miss that sound. Oh! I am SO excited to go back home!”

“I… I feel kind of bad. I’m the one who took that all away from you.” Lapis crosses her arms and sinks down in her chair. “I mean, if I hadn’t convinced you to come with me, you would still be there.”

“Lapis, I  _ chose _ to come here with you.” He sighs, leaning onto the table between him and Lapis. “And besides, it’s worked out! We liberated Homeworld! Plus they sent people ahead to take care of that whole Cluster craziness! Had we never come here, the Earth would still be in danger from some horrific gemshard forced fusion monster!”

Lapis chuckles. “You’re always optimistic, aren’t you?” She smiles. “I mean, I basically kidnapped you, and your response is ‘Hey, we started a revolution and stopped a giant monster. Everything is dandy!’ I mean, who thinks like that?”

Steven chuckles. “I do! I think like that! It’s always better to look on the bright side, and this is a very big bright side! I mean, we’ve accomplished  _ so _ much, and changed  _ so _ much for the better! I mean, it’s just amazing!”

Lapis chuckles sheepishly. “I mean, I guess, but I don’t feel like I did much. You handled most of it, I mostly just sat on the sidelines.”

“Lapis, none of this would have happened without you. If… If you hadn’t taken me to Homeworld then everything would still be terrible here! And that makes you the most important one of all.” Steven smacks his hands on the table, leaning towards Lapis with stars in his eyes. 

“Uhm. I guess, but I still feel bad. I mean, Amethyst  _ hates _ me.” She sighs. “So, sorry if I’m not really seeing the bright side of things.” 

Steven frowns. “I’ll talk to Amethyst later, because you’re AWESOME Lapis. I mean, you rode down the train path on my bubble with me! That was just awesome!”

Lapis chuckles. “That was  _ fun _ . Okay, I’m with you. I’m awesome.”

“Finally!” Steven sighs. “I’ll miss you when I go back.”

“I… I’ll miss you too Steven, but you guys are going to fix the Galaxy warp, right? It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”

“I know! I know! Aaaaaa. But I’m still allowed to miss you!”

Lapis scoffs, but smiles playfully at Steven. “Oh, what happened to seeing the bright side of things?”

“Hush.” Steven sticks his tongue out at Lapis. “It’s not like missing you is making me ignore all the great things.” He grins widely. “I mean, everything is really great. The colonies are being thoroughly brought into the ‘new world order’ as Pearl’s been calling it.”

“Oh, yeah, I was wondering how they were going about that?” Lapis frowns. “I mean, that’s a lot of planets to change everything on.”

“Well. Morganite is out there doing that stuff- I think Indicolite said she was acting as a mediator, and that the members of the Pink Diamond Allegiance out there are helping too.”

“So Ms. Perky is helping bring the colonies into… What was it again that Indicolite renamed us? The Galactic Gem Republic?”

“Yeah! That was it. And they renamed the capital city Granite, I think. Because, it’s like, a place for any gem or something.” Steven shrugs. “Oh! And how are the new waterways coming? You were tasked to help in that, right?” 

“Huh? The waterways? Oh, they’re done. It’s really cool, it’s like one giant waterfall starting from the former Diamond Palace, and it settles into these cool translucent pools in the middle of every level- which casts cool light down onto the level below in the sections where no sunlight got through before, before the continuing downward, and it finishes in this amazing lake in the undercity, which is sooo cool! I heard they were even building a park around it.” Lapis pauses, laughing. “Of course Peridork had to add some technogizmo to it to get another power source from the falling water or something. She said she was taking a page out of humans’ books? I dunno. But I wasn’t about to argue with her, and it wasn’t really visible.”

“Maaaan. I wish Indicolite wasn’t keeping me here.” He puts his head down on the table, gazing absentmindedly at the drab apartment around him. “ _ One _ time some crazy person tries to attack me, and I have to be ‘protected’ until things have settled.” He sighs. “I mean, my weapon is a SHIELD! Can’t I protect myself? I wanna see this stuff! It sounds so cool!”

Lapis puts her hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle. “Yeah, that’s pretty silly. I guess there’s probably no chance of sneaking you out?”

“There’s not.” Steven lets out a slow sigh. “You noticed the guard on the door right? They’ve been following me  _ everywhere _ for the past 4 days!” 

“Hey, you’ll be through with it tomorrow.” 

Steven perks up. “Yeah! I’ll get to go home!”  He beams. “Home will be  _ great _ .” 

Lapis smirks. “You’re home is one of a kind. It’s the only planet with gems that  _ isn’t _ gem controlled.”

“And it’s going to stay one of a kind!” Steven smiles. “With the new constitution they’re not allowed to colonize a planet with sentient life!”

Lapis smiles. “I know. I was an ‘observer’ of the writing of the constitution, because I wanted to make sure trapping gems in objects was  _ strictly _ forbidden. I didn’t actually have to say anything- Peri fought  _ hard _ for that one- though only one colony jerk was opposing it. She argued with her for like half an hour about it. Her main points were that and equality for working and servant class gems. You know, for all her weirdness, Peri’s pretty okay.”

“That’s cool. Indicolite didn’t want me there. She said that while my presence gave a boost to morale during the battle, it’s probably best if no Diamond is involved with the creation of the new government. I didn’t argue.” He chuckles. “What would I do anyways? Just watch, really.”

“Watching was actually kinda boring.” Lapis snickers. “But it was cool to see Peridot  _ scream _ at this big tall bulky gem about the immorality of using other gems as tools.” She smiles. “You  _ definitely _ rubbed off on her Steven.” 

Steven blushes, and smiles sheepishly. “She always had it in her… They all do.”

“Well,  _ sure _ , but it never would have been ‘out of her’ if it wasn’t for you.”

“Uhm.” He ducks his head, flustered. “And I would have never even been here if it wasn’t for you Lapis.”

“It really did all work out for the better in the end, huh?”

“Y-yeah. It did.”


	27. Epilogue: Let's go home

### Epilogue

#### Let’s go home

“And you’re  _ absolutely _ sure that you don’t want to come with us?” Steven pulls on Peridot’s arm, staring up at her with shining eyes. “I’ll really miss you! You’re part of my family now too, Peridot.”

The flustered green Gem chuckles. “A-are you still doing that family thing Steven?” She pulls her arm out of his grip. “I have told you 36 times already. I’m going to be staying at  _ my  _ home and continuing to help rebuild it. I am only here because I wanted to see you off…” He pouts and she looks away, all the more flustered. “ _ Honestly _ . Steven. No. I’m not coming to Earth with you. Just… Just fix the Galaxy Warp when you return! I made sure there were several Flask Robonoids on the ship, and Pearl should know how to operate them to fix any damaged warps. Soon as the pads in the Galaxy Warp are repaired you and I could see each other as often as we wanted. I-if I have the time, obviously.”

Steven frowns. “Yeah, I know. I know. We’ll get it fixed. You keep doing your stuff with leading the tech-stuff changes on Homeworld and such.” He sighs. “I’ll just miss you.”

Peridot rolls her eyes. “I’ll miss you too Steven.”

“Uhm.” Both Steven and Peridot turn around to see Lapis standing behind them, looking nervous. “D-Does the ship have room for one more?”

Steven gasps and darts back to Lapis, hugging her tightly. “Yes! Yes! Yes it does!” 

Peridot slowly doubles back to Lapis as well. “Well, yes. The ship prepared actually has  _ room _ for 4 to 5 more gems than are going… But I thought you were staying?”

Steven pulls back. “Yeah. I’m a bit confused. Didn’t we come here to begin with because you wanted to go home? Why’d you change your mind?”

“I… When I came here I thought Homeworld was my home. And it used to be. But… No. It’s not anymore. The Homeworld we came to wasn’t the home I remembered, and it was all so confusing. And even now that it’s been fixed and made so great I… don’t really have a place in it. The ‘new world order’ seems really wonderful, but I’m a relic of a gem. So… I thought maybe I’d fit in better among other relics of the past on Earth.” She blushes, looking down whilst absentmindedly scratching the back of her head.

Steven grins, and grabs her hand. “Then let’s go!” He sprints back forward- Peridot’s clomping metallic footsteps echoing after them as she struggles to keep up.

They stop in the entrance to the ship bay, marveling at all the different ships, and Peridot catches up with them, only slightly out of breath. “Your ship is the single pilot transport ship on the launching dock. You’ll know it in an instant because it is pink. They actually dug out one of Pink Diamond’s old ships for the occasion, and just upgraded it some.”

“Well, lead the way Dot!” Steven grins at her, and she smiles back slightly before leading the two to the other side of the area, stopping just outside of a pink ship. 

“Well… This is where I say my goodbyes.” Peridot hesitates for a moment, before quickly hugging Steven.

He gasps. “Dot! You hugged me!” 

“Never speak of it.” She mutters, before turning and extending a hand to Lapis. “And a friendly goodbye to you as well Lap-” Lapis grabs Peridot’s arm and yanked her in for yet another hug. 

“See you later Peridork.” She laughs, and Peridot pulls back looking incredibly flustered. 

“NEVER AGAIN!” She shoos both of them onto the ship. “Goodbye. I shall see you when you repair your galaxy warp.” 

“Bye Peridot!” Steven waves goodbye to his friend as the door to the ship seals closed. 

Steven turns a bright grin to Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, Connie, and of course Lion, who were all already on the ship. After all that had happened, here he stood, amongst friends and family. Together once, and together again.

“Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's all posted.
> 
> I won't be going back and editing or rewriting any of this, despite how much some parts of it need it. 
> 
> I _would_ , but I recently decided to reuse my initial premise, combined with a story I didn't have a beginning for. With that one, I'll post the chapters as they're written, unlike with this one. I hope it will be better than this one, especially since we know more about the Diamond now, so it can, if nothing else, be more accurate.


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